Regional district says increases are necessary to maintain water and sewer services; critics say budget process isn’t transparent enough
Taxes and fees levied by Metro Vancouver will increase to $875 for the average household next year, a 9.9 per cent jump on the amount residents pay for waste, water and other regional services.
The regional district framed the tax increase as an attempt to catch up on infrastructure work deferred during the COVID-19 pandemic, while critics called it another example of financial mismanagement.
“The reality is the rate increase we’re seeing this year must be done to ensure that we have the resources to keep our infrastructure in good condition,” said Metro board chair Mike Hurley. “We rely on these systems every day.”
He said increases of 2.7 per cent in 2021 and 3.5 per cent in 2022 were “way below what they probably should have been.”
While the 2025 increase was previously projected at 14 per cent, staff were able to find ways to reduce that by adjusting timelines on two of the region’s largest projects, the Iona sewage plant and the Coquitlam water main. The regional district is projecting a five per cent tax increase in 2026, and another in 2027.
Hurley said rising costs on the North Shore sewage plant — a $2.8 billion adjustment — were factored into calculations earlier this year and did not contribute to the proposed 9.9 per cent increase.
But critics of Metro Vancouver’s financial management said the regional district’s announcement felt “a little like déja vu.”
Daniel Fontaine, a New Westminster city councillor, said Metro’s financial calculations lack transparency, with the tax increase hailed as a reduction because staff were able to bring down the number from the original projection.
“They come out with a larger number, and then they come out with a smaller number — it’s like a financial sleight of hand,” he said. “There’s so many mysteries around Metro Vancouver budgeting.”
Fontaine said the increased taxes and fees come on top of increasing municipal property taxes. But while a mayor and council are elected, Metro Vancouver is made up of representatives from government.
“Metro Vancouver as an entity has a severe credibility gap. It feels very opaque and distant,” he said. Big financial “boondoggles,” like the ballooning cost estimate for the new sewage plant, have further eroded public trust.
Carson Binda, B.C. director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said residents should be skeptical about tax increases when the region’s chief administrative officer takes home about $700,000 in total remuneration, including salary and taxable benefits.
“It’s inappropriate for the Metro region to be raising taxes when they’re already wasting huge amounts of taxpayer money,” he said. “We’ve seen spending scandal after spending scandal from Metro Vancouver over the past few months with its politicians living the high life off the taxpayer dollar.”
He pointed to a recent conference attended by several Metro directors in Amsterdam.
“Time and time again, Metro Vancouver has shown wild mismanagement of the public purse,” he said.
The Metro Vancouver board will review the 2025 budget recommendations at a workshop scheduled in mid-October before considering the budget and its five-year financial plan at a meeting Nov. 1. Following the finalization of the budget, municipalities integrate the regional charges into their local property tax and utility bills through their budget processes.
The proposed budget would see the average household cost for regional services in 2025 work out to:
• $200 for water services
• $510 for liquid waste services
• $71 for solid waste services
• $94 for regional district services, including regional parks, regional planning, air quality management, E-911 telephone service, and regional economic development service