Dear Editor,
[RE: Past councillor joins others in blasting Metro, Feb. 21, The News]
So, our mayor does not believe that Metro [Vancouver] is broken and he would rather wait for a review (probably more than 800 pages and at what cost to prepare) to help him understand if “we are doing this the right way.”
I would suggest to Mayor Ruimy that you do not have to look any further than the meeting stipend issue discussed in this article to understand that Metro is broken.
If you remember back in the midst of the almost daily reports in the press regarding billions of dollars in project cost overruns, and the announcement that Metro Vancouver taxpayers will have to pay increased taxes for the next couple of decades at least.
Senior Metro staff, with approval from the politicians at the table, decided that one of the best ways to address these concerns, was to increase, retroactively, the stipend they receive for attending Metro meetings.
If that decision alone does not convince you, Mayor Ruimy, of the arrogance, incompetence, and pure entitlement of the people running and making decisions at Metro Vancouver, I am not sure that an expensive review will change your mind.
There is no question that running for council is not a 9-5 job and that people who run for these positions put in a lot of hours in service of their community. But they do, or should, know that is the nature of the beast before running.
In the case of your Metro meetings, I believe you are on several committees, not only are you receiving what appears to be $136.75 per hour for attending the meetings, you are also being compensated by the taxpayers of Maple Ridge.
Municipal leaders in several other municipalities have been very vocal in expressing their concerns and in one case their apologies, for the current state of affairs at Metro.
Councillor Kash Heed of Richmond has gone as far as requesting to receive no stipend payments for his attendance at Metro meetings. I say "requested" because apparently there is a Metro bylaw that states committee members must accept payment for their attendance, “we don’t want to be taking that money but they are making us.”
I would like to see Maple Ridge council make a bold move and publicly state that they will no longer accept payment for attendance at Metro Vancouver committee meetings, and if required to receive these payments, they will donate them to a local charity of their choice.
I know that this will be a substantial financial hit to you and some of the council members, but like Metro Vancouver has told us, as taxpayers we all have to take a financial hit to pay for their arrogant mismanagement of Metro.
Dennis Kinsey, Maple Ridge
