A9
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: December 24, ,1996
Dept. File No.
TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: General Manager of Engineering Services, in consultation with
the General Manager of Community Services
SUBJECT: Proposal for a Successor Organization to the Fraser Basin
Management Board
CONSIDERATION
A. THAT Council support a successor organization to the Fraser
Basin Management Board with representation through regional
districts.
If (A.) is approved then staff RECOMMEND
B. THAT funding for the successor organization be applied through
municipal levies.
C. THAT the $0.20 per capita financial contribution be contingent
upon continued support from the federal and provincial
governments and include the GVRD s contributions to the Fraser
River Estuary Management Program and Burrard Inlet
Environmental Action Plan.
D. THAT the new entity charged with overseeing the implementation
of the Basin Plan include a coordination role to ensure that
the soon-to-be-finalized integrated Flood Hazard Management
Strategy is implemented.
CITY MANAGER'S COMMENTS
Given the budget decisions which are required in 1997 and the City
Choices program to explore budget issues with the public, it would be
preferable to defer this decision until February, when Council will have
set the overall 1997 budget. The GVRD has asked that the City provide
its position by January 10. This report accordingly is submitted now,
to provide Council the opportunity to respond within the GVRD's time
line. However, the City Manager RECOMMENDS it be deferred until the
last half of February, and that the General Manager of Engineering
Services
report back on the saving which would flow to the City if a successor
organization was not endorsed.
COMMENTS OF THE GENERAL MANAGER OF ENGINEERING SERVICES
The benefit of a successor organization to the Fraser Basin Management
Board is not clear. The Basin Plan, produced by the FBMB, provides a
vision for sustainability in the Fraser Basin. The role that is
envisaged for a successor organization is as an advocacy group to
encourage individuals, governments, industry, and others to take action
to achieve this vision. The organization would have no regulatory or
decision making function.
It is difficult to quantify what impact the existence of such an
organization may have on decision making within the Basin, or on the
realization of the Vision of the Basin Plan. Therefore, the decision on
whether or not to support the organization at an annual cost to
Vancouver of between $52,000 and $61,000, is put to Council for
consideration.
COUNCIL POLICY
One of the directions in the City Plan is to make improving the
environment a priority in decision-making with particular attention to
air and water quality.
PURPOSE
This report presents a structure for the successor organization to the
Fraser Basin Management Board and recommends the source of funding.
BACKGROUND
The Fraser Basin Management Program was established on May 26, 1992, to
advance the environmental, economic and social sustainability of the
Fraser Basin. It is headed by a 19 member Board consisting of
representatives from government, First Nations, business, labour,
non-governmental organizations, and other partners throughout the basin.
The program is funded by federal, provincial and local governments.
In addition, an Intergovernmental Task Force on Flood Hazard Management
has been established under the auspices of the Fraser Basin Management
Program, to develop a cooperative management agreement that will clarify
the roles and responsibilities of the various levels of government. A
strategy is being developed on integrated flood hazard management for
consultation and review by all shareholders.
The original mandate of the Fraser Basin Management Board has culminated
in the Basin plan, a strategic plan for sustainability of the Fraser
River. It is now proposed that a new entity be created at a regional
level and mandated to oversee implementation of the Basin Plan.
At their September, 1996 meetings, the GVRD Strategic Planning Committee
and the GVRD Board received and approved a staff report providing
comments on the Fraser Basin Management Board s draft Basin Plan and
forwarded it to the Fraser Basin Management Board for consideration.
The Committee deferred consideration of a second recommendation that the
GVRD Board consult its members on any proposal for a successor
organization, pending the outcome of a meeting of the Local Government
Steering Committee held in conjunction with the 1996 UBCM Convention in
Penticton. Subsequent to the meeting of the Local Government Steering
Committee, the GVRD Board has forwarded the report, titled "Proposal for
a Successor Organization to the Fraser Basin Management Board", to the
member municipalities for comment.
DISCUSSION
Attached is the GVRD Board report, titled "Proposal for a Successor
Organization to the Fraser Basin Management Board", which includes a
letter from Mayor Halsey-Brant conveying a proposal that was approved by
the Local Government Steering Committee.
The letter from the Local Government Steering Committee proposes that a
successor organization be established to support the implementation of
the Basin Plan, as well as the soon-to-be-finalized Flood Hazard
Management Strategy. Local government representation on the successor
organization would consist of one member from each of the seven regional
districts in the basin.
Local government funding would be through a levy of $0.20 per capita.
GVRD contributions would be net of the existing funding towards the
Burrard Inlet Environmental Action Plan/ Fraser River Estuary Management
Program (BIEAP/FREMP).
This proposal is contingent upon continued support and significant
financial contributions from the federal and provincial governments.
Benefits
The presumed benefit of this proposal is that it provides an
organization that involves all levels of government, as well as the
private sector, in joint communication and cooperation in sustainability
planning for the Fraser basin. In this way, it would provide a vehicle
for local input into what is essentially a senior government area of
responsibility.
Shifting the representation and funding to the regional level would
bring a clearer focus to local government s involvement in basin-wide
planning and allow improved coordination with other regional programs
such as BIEAP/FREMP.
Costs
The proposal for the successor to the Fraser Basin Management Board
includes a contribution of $360,000 ($0.20 x 1.8 million people) from
the GVRD. The GVRD would receive a credit of $180,000 for it s
contribution to BIEAP/FREMP. There would also be a corresponding
reduction in obligations for member municipalities of the GVRD who are
paying $180,000 ($0.10 x 1.8 million people) to the existing Fraser
Basin Management Program through the Union of British Columbia
Municipalities (UBCM). Therefore, there is no net increase in the cost
of the program.
GVRD costs to Vancouver are based on assessed property values, while
UBCM costs to Vancouver are based on per capita. Therefore, from a City
of Vancouver perspective, there is an $8,700 annual savings if the
program is funded through direct per capita levies to municipalities,
($180,000 x 33.9% of regional assessed values versus $180,000 x
523,000/1.8 million people in the region).
Conclusions
With the goal of implementing the Basin Plan, prepared by the FBMB, the
proposed successor organization would provide a vehicle for continued
coordination of efforts to manage environmental issues in the Fraser
Basin with input from local government.
The alternative view is that management and regulation of environmental
issues on this broad a scale is a senior government responsibility, and
that the senior governments will continue to play the lead role, through
the Provincial Ministry of the Environment and the Federal Department of
Fisheries. The proposed organization may be no more effective in
advancing the municipal perspective than the direct dealings of
municipalities and Regional Districts with the senior governments.
The decision on whether or not to support the establishment of a
successor group should be based on whether or not Council believes that
this group can be an effective vehicle for local input to these issues.
The annual cost of the program to Vancouver will range between $52,300
and $61,000, depending on the cost allocation mechanism that is chosen.
In light of the City s current budget situation, the choice on whether
or not to support formation of this organization is brought forward for
Council s consideration.
If Council chooses to support this program, then staff recommend:
- that Vancouver s support is contingent on continued support and
participation by the federal and provincial governments;
- that the $0.20 per capita contribution include the GVRD s support
of the FREMP and BIEAP programs;
- that the program be funded by per capita assessments directly to
municipalities;
- that the new organization co-ordinate the implementation of the
Flood Hazard Management Strategy.
These conclusions are incorporated into the Recommendations of this
report.
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