With local mayors and councillors up for re-election, it might be timely to look at their spending habits. We tend to think of provincial and federal ministries as the really big beasts. Yet over the years, municipalities have greatly expanded their size and reach. The numbers tell the tale.
Let鈥檚 start with the provincewide picture. During the decade from 2000 to 2011, municipal spending ballooned across sa国际传媒 Adjusting for inflation and population growth, local government budgets climbed 37 per cent on average.
By way of comparison, provincial ministry expenditures rose 19 per cent 鈥� half as much. (Here and below, municipal figures exclude police budgets and capital projects.)
Part of the explanation lies in the generous salary hikes municipalities have granted their staff 鈥� twice what provincial employees received. But it appears there has also been a significant amount of mandate creep. The largest spending lifts were for services that lie outside the traditional boundaries of local government.
That raises a question candidates might reasonably be asked: Are town and city councils trying to do too much?
Let鈥檚 narrow the focus. Municipalities on Vancouver Island have the second-worst spending record in sa国际传媒 Collectively, their budgets have risen nearly 50 per cent. And that鈥檚 after inflation and population growth are netted out.
The table below shows how the capital region鈥檚 13 municipalities performed. As before, the figures are inflation-adjusted, taken from reports by the provincial government and sa国际传媒 Stats, with analysis by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
As the table shows, Langford, Metchosin and Colwood more than doubled their outlays, which puts them in the bottom third of municipalities across the province. Sooke actually tripled its per-capita spending 鈥� the worst record among sa国际传媒鈥檚 153 local governments.
There were some better performances. Oak Bay, Saanich and Victoria imposed a degree of discipline. And Sidney held the line, with a lift of just 18 per cent, close to the best score in the province.
What are we to make of those figures? Some councils, Langford, for example, might point to their rapidly expanding population. And to a degree, there is justice in this argument.
Yet those budget figures are corrected for population growth, while the cost of building new facilities has been excluded. Why the huge spending lifts?
By and large, it鈥檚 not personal largesse. Mayors and councillors in the capital region are sparing with their own salaries and benefits. With two exceptions, mayors take home between $30,000 and $45,000 in pay and expenses. Councillors get between $15,000 and $30,000. Those are in line with provincial averages for small- to medium-sized districts.
The two exceptions are Victoria, where the mayor takes home $105,000 in pay and expenses, and Saanich, where the mayor gets $97,000.
A more troubling concern is that municipalities are taking on ever wider responsibilities. This might be due, in part, to provincial ministries reducing their presence in areas they traditionally serve.
Yet in the long run, expansionism on this scale is not sustainable without hefty tax increases. That also prompts a question municipal candidates might be asked: Are you willing to commit to a tax freeze?
Of course, none of these concerns matter if we don鈥檛 make ourselves heard. That鈥檚 perhaps the most important message here. On Nov. 15, make sure you get out and vote.
