Ken Sim creates task force to find efficiencies in Vancouver's budget

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim has announced an external task force that will look at the city's budget for any efficiencies and potential new revenue streams — but nearly a third of the budget will be off limits for review. 

"We're taking a proactive and future-looking approach to future budgets," said Sim in announcing the team of five accountants and financial analysts tasked with providing recommendations to council. 

The task force is asked to "identify opportunities to improve service levels, processes, and transparency by examining the city's operating and capital budgets," but also notes that the Vancouver Police Department, Park Board and Public Library "will not fall within the scope of this task force."

Combined, those three departments will make up 31 per cent of the city's $1.9 billion in expenditures this year, with the police department making up the majority at 20 per cent. 

In addition to the task force members, there are also four "advisers and support members," including Greater Vancouver Board of Trade CEO Bridgette Anderson and B.C. Ferries chair Joy MacPhail. 

"It is really important that business and government work together to find solutions to the really complex challenges that we're seeing," said Anderson. 

The task force members are doing their work on a voluntary basis and will provide a report to council by October. 

Possible overlap?

The task force comes a month after council voted to raise property taxes by 10.7 per cent this year. It also came after an election campaign in which Sim promised to find efficiencies in the city's budget following several years of rate increases beyond the rate of inflation. 

"We promised that as we look to the future, large tax increases could not become the norm, and we promised to do everything we can do within our power to proactively address budgetary challenges," said Sim.

"This task force will be responsible for going through our city spending with a fine-tooth comb."

Questions at Sim's news conference where he announced the change focused on potential overlap, given council recently created an auditor general's office (budgeted at $2 million this year), along with a separate finance and auditing department that prepares the draft budget each year. 

"We said that we were going to crowdsource all of our solutions, not just in finance, but with the arts community, with housing, with local businesses," said Sim, who praised the city's internal team. 

"The answer to how we make Vancouver a more incredible place is we actually listen to the community, and we actually welcome the community to actually give us input as to how we make this place better."

In a statement, Opposition OneCity Vancouver Coun. Christine Boyle said that while she supported the task force, its scope was too limited.

"[It] should include measuring the performance of recent investments made by this council in the Vancouver Police Department," she wrote.

"If they're working, great. If not, we need to look at other approaches."