The Finance and Revenue Advisory Committee (FRAC), a body of citizen volunteers council itself relies on for financial oversight, has just delivered a stinging memorandum on the proposed 2027 Sewerage and Drainage Bylaw that should alarm anyone paying a West Vancouver utility or property tax bill.
The stakes are not small. The Sewer Utility is the District’s second-largest source of revenue and expense — $39 million this year, $254 million projected over five years. The proposed 2027 increase, once the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant levy is properly included, comes to 13.1%, financially equivalent to a 5% property tax hike.
Council nearly accepted this report at its July 6 meeting, without properly consulting its advisors. FRAC has come to the rescue to save Council from adopting the wrong (and likely too high) utility fee increase for 2027.
The advisory committee found extensive flawed math in the report. The fundamental underlying data is errant, so any decision using it would be wrong.
For instance, the Metro Vancouver levy data used in our West Vancouver sewer utility fee calculations appears to have multi-million dollar anomalies, which then results in error-filled projections that would prompt improperly informed decisions based upon them. The resulting fee increase recommended for 2027 in the council report therefore lacks any credibility.
The additional levy for the wastewater plant’s $2.8 billion cost overrun is being phased over five years ending in 2029. But the council report appears to suggest it will continue to increase significantly again in 2030, without any explanation.
FRAC has raised other questions about the sewer utility’s reserve funds and the absence of interest being credited on these reserves, that again could significantly skew the impact on future utility tax bills.
Then there’s timing. This year’s rate-setting arrived at Council four months earlier than in prior years, and ahead of final 2027 levy data from Metro Vancouver, and before the full effect on West Vancouver of the $235 million settlement with the original contractor is even known.
The upshot is that council let a materially flawed staff report reach the public without noticing the contradictions its own advisors later caught. It makes one wonder just how thoroughly Mayor and Council pay attention to the budget, and to the committee that supports their understanding of it.
The reality is that elected officials are often confronted with information that requires time and expertise beyond their own. The responsible approach is to use community experts as advisors to help Mayor and Council make sound financial decisions.
Residents deserve management of the District’s finances that they can trust. When your own advisors can’t follow the math, something is wrong. In this case, the advisors weren’t properly consulted in a timely manner. I certainly would.
On Monday at a special council meeting, council is being asked to consider seven specific recommendations from FRAC. It appears staff will then be asked to meet with the committee to bring the matter back at a “future regular Council meeting.” The proper move is to defer decisions on the 2027 utility fees until after the election. These important financial issues, based on the right information and data, deserve a thorough, grounded deliberation for our sake.