CITY OF VANCOUVER
REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
STANDING COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL ON
CITY SERVICES AND BUDGETSMAY 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 PuilABSENT:
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 BudgetClauses 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 BUDGETSMAY 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 PriceABSENT:
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 Citys external auditors.
Hugh Creighton, Director of Finance, introduced Bob Shaw of KPMG Chartered Accountants, and briefly reviewed the Financial Statements.
Mr. Shaw advised the auditors report presents fairly the Citys 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 Citys Y2K compliance.
The following motion by the Mayor was put and carried. The Committee, therefore,
RECOMMENDED
THAT the City External Auditors 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 Citys 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 Councils 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;
· CPTSPs 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