A special Metro Vancouver Board meeting was held on Thursday morning with cost savings on the agenda.
The regional district has at least 16 different committees and paying all the elected officials to attend can add up.
According to 2019 financial plans, there was $2.9 million budgeted for administrative services. That jumped to $4.6 million in 2024.
Metro Vancouver said the increase was because more politicians were appointed to standing committees and task forces.
“You have mayors who are attending Mayors’ Council meetings and they’re charging extra to attend a meeting that they should be doing as just part of their job as being a mayor and that’s what’s raising a lot of eyebrows,” New Westminster councilor Daniel Fontaine.
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Since 2019, the fee for Metro Vancouver Board members to attend meetings has climbed from $397 to $534. That fee doubles if the meeting goes over four hours.
“How much of this can the taxpayer take?,” Richmond councillor Kash Heed said.
“And we have to really question whether the authority, which is the provincial government, will intervene and say enough’s enough.”
Earlier this week, B.C. Premier David Eby said he was “disappointed to be disappointed again by Metro Vancouver.”
He added that he does have confidence in the review that is underway into Metro Vancouver and that it will include all aspects of governance such as spending.
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