CITY OF VANCOUVER

REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
STANDING COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL ON
CITY SERVICES AND BUDGETS

MAY 6, 1999

A Regular Meeting of the Council of the City of Vancouver was held on Thursday, May 6, 1999, at 11:55 a.m., in Committee Room No. 1, Third Floor, City Hall, following the Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets meeting, to consider the recommendations of the Committee.

PRESENT:	Councillor Don Lee, Deputy Mayor Councillor Don Bellamy Councillor Nancy A. Chiavario Councillor Daniel Lee Councillor Gordon Price Councillor George Puil
ABSENT:	Mayor Philip Owen (Civic Business) Councillor Jennifer Clarke (Civic Business) Councillor Lynne Kennedy (Civic Business) Councillor Alan Herbert Councillor Sam Sullivan (Leave of Absence)
CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE:	Brent MacGregor, Deputy City Manager
CLERK TO THE COUNCIL:	Tarja Tuominen

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

MOVED by Cllr. Puil,
SECONDED by Cllr. Bellamy,

THAT this Council resolve itself into Committee of the Whole, Deputy Mayor Don Lee in the chair.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Report of Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets
May 6, 1999

Council considered the recommendations of the Committee, as contained in the following clauses of the attached report:

Cl.1: 1998 Financial Statements
Cl.2: 1999 Property Tax Options
Cl.3: Pay Telephone Agreements
Cl.4: 1999 Engineering Basic Capital Budget
Cl.5: 1999 Basic Capital Budget

Clauses 1 to 3
MOVED by Cllr. Puil,

THAT the recommendations of the Committee, as contained in Clauses 1 to 3 of this report, be approved.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

Clauses 4 and 5

Due to time constraints, consideration of Clauses 4 and 5 was referred to a future meeting.

(Note from Clerk: Consideration of the 1999 Engineering Basic Capital Budget and the 1999 Basic Capital Budget is scheduled for the Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets meeting on May 20.)

RISE FROM COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

MOVED by Cllr. Puil,

THAT the Committee of the Whole rise and report.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

ADOPT REPORT OF COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

MOVED by Cllr. Puil,
SECONDED by Cllr. Bellamy,

THAT the report of the Committee of the Whole be adopted.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

The Council adjourned at 12:00 p.m.

- - - - -

REPORT TO COUNCIL

STANDING COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL
ON CITY SERVICES AND BUDGETS

MAY 6, 1999

A Regular Meeting of the Standing Committee of Council on City Services and Budgets was held on Thursday, May 6, 1999, at 9:30 a.m. in Committee Room No. 1, Third Floor, City Hall.

PRESENT:	Councillor George Puil, Chair Mayor Philip Owen (Items 1 and 2) Councillor Don Bellamy Councillor Nancy A. Chiavario Councillor Jennifer Clarke Councillor Alan Herbert Councillor Lynne Kennedy Councillor Daniel Lee Councillor Don Lee Councillor Gordon Price
ABSENT:	Councillor Sam Sullivan (Leave of Absence)
CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE:	Brent MacGregor, Deputy City Manager
CLERK TO THE COMMITTEE:	Tarja Tuominen

ADOPTION OF MINUTES

The Minutes of the Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets meeting of April 15, 1999, were adopted.

RECOMMENDATION

1. 1998 Financial Statements File: 1503

The Committee had before it a memorandum, dated April 15 , 1999 (on file), from the Director of Finance, submitting the Financial Statements of the City of Vancouver for the year ended December 31, 1998, audited as of April 15, 1999, by KPMG Chartered Accountants, the City’s external auditors.

Hugh Creighton, Director of Finance, introduced Bob Shaw of KPMG Chartered Accountants, and briefly reviewed the Financial Statements.

Mr. Shaw advised the auditor’s report presents fairly the City’s financial position and noted some significant points including the accumulated value of employee earned benefits (sick leave, deferred vacation and overtime entitlements), the Municipal Pension Plan, and the City’s Y2K compliance.

The following motion by the Mayor was put and carried. The Committee, therefore,

RECOMMENDED

THAT the City External Auditor’s Report and the Financial Statements of the City of Vancouver for the year ended December 3, 1998, be received for information.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

2. 1999 Property Tax Options File: 1551

The Committee had before it a Policy Report, dated April 13, 1999 (on file) in which the Director of Finance discussed various taxation policy options relevant to the 1999 taxation year. The Director of Finance recommended that Class 5 (light industrial) and Class 6 (business) tax rates not be consolidated in 1999. The Director also submitted for consideration the option to shift approximately 1% of the 1999 general purposes tax levy from Class 2 (utilities), Class 4 (major industrial), Class 5 (light industrial) and Class 6 (business/other) to Class 1 (residential) properties.

Karen Levitt, Financial Analyst, with the aid of a hand-out and slide presentation, reviewed the options presented in the Policy Report. Ms. Levitt and Ken Bayne, Comptroller of Budgets and Research, responded to questions on the impacts on property taxes due to BOD/TSS charges and implementation of the sewer utility.

The following speakers supported the option for the 1% tax shift from the Class 2, 4, 5 and 6 properties to the Class 1:

· Richard Anderson, representing the Citizens’ Advisory Group on Property Taxation
· Stuart Swain, Downtown Vancouver BIA
· Bob Langois, Local Government Committee, Vancouver Board of Trade (brief filed)

The foregoing speakers supported the 1% tax shift based on one or more of the following points:

· the business class properties consume less of the City’s output than the residential properties, however the business properties pay higher taxes;
· high business taxes have a depressive effect on the economy;
· it is difficult for tenants in the downtown area and office core to pay higher business taxes;
· a competitive climate for business is needed; in other municipalities the gap between business and residential classes is narrowing, but in Vancouver the gap increases.

The following motion by the Mayor was put and carried. The Committee, therefore,

RECOMMENDED

THAT for the purposes of general taxation in 1999, the Class 5 (light industrial) and Class 6 (business) tax rates not be consolidated and that the tax rates for the two classes be developed on a basis consistent with taxation methodology in previous years.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

3. Pay Telephone Agreements File: 1203

The Committee had before it an Administrative Report, dated March 27, 1999 (on file), in which the General Manager of Engineering Services, in consultation with the General Manager of Corporate Services, sought approval to permit competitive pay telephone service providers (CPTSP) to install pay telephones on public property, subject to the execution of agreements described in the Report.

The Administrative Report was scheduled for consideration at Council’s meeting of April 27, 1999. As a delegation request was received, consideration of the report was referred to a future Standing Committee meeting.

Peter Judd, Assistant City Engineer, Electrical & Equipment Services, presented a background to the issue and reviewed the proposed terms of the agreements with the CPTSPs.

Charles Gauthier, Executive Director, Downtown Vancouver BIA; and Leonore Sali, Executive Director, Gastown Business Improvement Society; expressed the following

concerns with the installation of pay telephones on public property:

· graffiti removal;
· maintenance of telephones;
· location of telephones;
· consultation with community groups prior to installation of telephones;
· CPTSP’s providing financial contribution to BIAs for graffiti removal and clean-up;
· installation of pay telephones done in consultation with the street furniture study.

The following CPTSP representatives spoke in response to the concerns raised by the previous speakers:

· Bruce Clark, Canada PayPhone
· Paul Devlin, PayTel, Canada

Some of the points made by the foregoing speakers were:

· the CPTSPs agree to address the foregoing concerns in negotiations with the City;
· transit shelters would be considered as good locations for pay telephones;
· the Main and Hastings area could be considered as a location for 911 phones;
· the competition is good for everyone;
· the marketplace will dictate the importance of providing clean phones;
· may not be able to meet the amount of the maintenance agreement requested by the Downtown Vancouver BIA.

Inspector Chris Beach, Vancouver Police Department, advised of the following Police Department concerns:

· the Police Department does not advocate a direct dial to 911;
· the importance of ensuring the pay telephones have no ability to call in, only out;
· the pay telephones need to have the ability for readout of location and to record name and address.

Dale Mulek, BC TEL, advised BC TEL is committed to continuing a dedicated service to the City. New technology is deployed and located where citizens and visitors can take advantage. A limited number of CPTSPs should be tested to see if they can provide the service before the City moves toward a truly competitive model. In response to a question,

Mr. Mulek advised BC TEL does not provide a percentage of its revenue from calling cards.

The following motion by Cllr. Price was put and carried. The Committee, therefore,

RECOMMENDED

THAT consideration of the report be deferred for a month to allow staff to report back with information on questions raised, e.g. police concerns, agreements related to maintenance and graffiti removal, installation of pay telephones in consultation with street furniture study.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

(Councillors Clarke and Kennedy not present for the vote)

Due to time constraints, the Committee agreed to refer the following two items to a future meeting:

4. 1999 Engineering Basic Capital Budget File: 1611

5. 1999 Basic Capital Budget File: 1602

The Committee adjourned at 11:55 a.m.

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(c) 1998 City of Vancouver