- Vancity Lookout
- Posts
- Metro Vancouver spending, governance practices in the spotlight
Metro Vancouver spending, governance practices in the spotlight
Metro Vancouver’s spending and governance practices are in the spotlight. Plus, the churn of late-night music and dance venues continues.

What happened: Mayor Ken Sim said he’ll be boycotting Metro Vancouver (MV) district meetings, saying the regional body’s governance system is broken and lacks accountability, according to Global.
Other ABC councillors who sit on various committees can make their own decisions around attendance, according to the mayor’s office.
Background: MV is coming under scrutiny for its spending practices. Last week, MV held a special meeting to discuss and examine the board’s scope of services and budget, including the necessity of things like investment stimulation programs, cultural grants, and regional climate policy coordination, according to BIV.
Meeting costs: Another area of scrutiny has been the payments made to elected officials who sit on MV’s boards and committees. Metro Van Chair and Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley has said he’s committed to completing a governance review of the board, according to MV. That review will begin this month, according to Hurley.
“The review can’t come a moment too soon,” Premier David Eby said, adding he’s confident the review will include all aspects of governance, according to City News.
In 2023, MV’s highest-paid board and committee members were Delta Mayor George Harvie ($143,000), Anmore Mayor John McEwen ($113,000), Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West ($86,500) Coquitlam Councillor Craig Hodge ($83,000), and Hurley ($81,000). These figures are approximate, including salary and expenses, according to MV financial documents.
Vancouver’s highest-paid MV representative that year was Sarah Kirby-Yung ($46,000).
Lisa Muri, a committee chair, received a $5,700 stipend to attend two meetings, according to Global. Muri, who is also a District of North Vancouver councillor, has been critical of the media’s coverage of Metro Vancouver, calling it biased and highlighting the “exceptional work” MV does in the region, according to BIV. Muri made just under $28,000 from her work with MV in 2023.
Dive deeper: Geoff went a little further in-depth about how much some mayors in the region make in total and their colleagues’ reactions to those figures.
$3 billion over budget: However, the most shocking expenditures relate to the cost of MV’s North Shore water treatment plant. Originally expected to be completed in 2020 at a cost of $700 million, it’s now budgeted at $3.86 billion with a 2030 completion date, according to Urbanized.
MV is increasing their base utility rates by $76 per year, to a total of $774, for the average Metro Vancouver household, starting in 2025, according to budget documents.
On top of that base rate, MV will charge an additional fee to cover the cost overruns on the wastewater treatment plant. North Shore households will bear the highest costs, paying a utility bill increase of $590 per year for up to 30 years, while households in the Vancouver, Fraser, and Lulu Island sewerage areas will pay $150, $90, $80 more respectively each year, according to City News.
The regional body is reporting progress on the plant, with a media tour of the project that’s been plagued by delays and a multi-billion dollar cost increase. MV has hired a new contractor, with incentives to not exceed the nearly $2 billion contract, after firing their initial contractor in 2022, according to Urbanized.
Litigation between the first contractor and MV is ongoing, with both parties filing lawsuits over how the project was handled.