Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan says his trip to Mesa, Ariz. in March was worth the cost to taxpayers, despite facing media criticism for it over the past week.
The city paid for eight officials to venture south on the U.S.-junket. The mayor has been criticized in newspapers and on the radio for taking such a large group, which the City of Burnaby estimated would cost $6,500 U.S., with funds coming from the city's intergovernmental relations budget. The actual cost hasn't been confirmed.
"The reality is that if you don't support these relationships by having regular contact, they atrophy," Corrigan said Wednesday.
While the trips to Arizona may not result in concrete business or financial returns, city councillors and staff do learn a lot, Corrigan said.
"I went down when the old mayor was there, this time the new mayor was there," he said. "I probably won't go again until another mayor comes along."
Mesa's mayor, Scott Smith, is a Republican mayor and was elected in May 2008.
He was unavailable for comment on this story when the NOW tried to contact him, as he was in Europe.
Corrigan, along with city councillors Paul McDonell, Nick Volkow and Dan Johnston; school board vice-chair Baljinder Narang; city manager Robert Moncur; deputy city manager Chad Turpin; director of planning and building Basil Luksun; and Corrigan's executive assistant Maryann Manuel made the trip to Burnaby's sister city during spring break.
Corrigan, Volkow and Moncur brought their spouses on the Arizona trip, though they and Narang paid their own way, Corrigan said.
The Corrigans flew to Mesa from Bellingham, Wash., as Mesa city officials had asked them to fly into the city airport, which has only recently begun serving commercial airlines.
"Getting a commercial airline - Allegiant Air - in is a big deal for Mesa," he said.
Corrigan said he has learned from Mesa's taxation problems.
Cities in Arizona are dependent on sales taxes and development fees to cover their budgets, and Mesa doesn't currently charge property taxes, he explained. Therefore, cities in the area compete for business dollars, and struggle when the economy dips.
"Sometimes learning what not to do is more important than learning what to do," he said. "It's much better to have a consistent property tax and to not be in the position of depending on sales tax."
The delegation also looked at different approaches to education, such as trade training in high school; Mesa's $100 million arts centre; and the $100 million investment in the city's stadium, to keep the Cubs for spring training. The delegation attended the cubs spring training on one of the three days they were in Mesa.
On his last visit, Corrigan spoke with the mayor of Mesa and the governor of Arizona about the softwood lumber dispute, he said.
This time, Corrigan spoke with Smith about international trade agreements and was invited by the mayor to come to the Meeting of American Mayors, to see how they operate in relation to the U.S. federal government.
While that invitation may not pan out, Corrigan said, those opportunities only develop within a personal relationship. Burnaby has had a relationship with Loughborough, England - the birthplace of Robert Burnaby - since 1986, but it has not been maintained with regular contact, Corrigan said. "So there isn't much left."
The relationship with Mesa may not have concrete results in terms of business, but former TEAM Burnaby councillor Garth Evans says he can't discount the value of it.
Evans, who was a councillor from 2005 to 2008, travelled to Mesa, Ariz. when he was on council.
"I don't know how much benefit there is, I don't know that there was any benefit directly," he said. "But perhaps building a relationship between the two governments was of some value."
Evans said it was an interesting trip but he wouldn't do it again if he were on council.
For him, what he did during his free time was more valuable than the socializing, he said, such as connecting with the Central Arizona Mission, which helps homeless people in the area.
"The mayor has said that there was benefit and if there was none he wouldn't go, and I accept that," he said, "but I think the benefit is pretty limited, and I didn't see any direct benefit in terms of our people learning from their people."
But he added he is reluctant to criticize Corrigan, as it is difficult to measure the value of these relationships.
The trips to Hwaseong, Korea and Zhongshan City, China were more valuable in terms of business, Evans added.
Evans also travelled to China as co-leader of a delegation when he was on council, with members of the Burnaby Board of Trade.
"I think that helped some, especially in China, where it's all about contacts," he added.
Mayors and councillors also have a higher status in China, he said.
"If you're with the mayor and he's having meetings with their mayor or party secretary, that opens doors," he said. "People are really keen in China on that sort of contact."
The itinerary was also more business-focused than the Mesa trip, he added.
The 2012 trip to Arizona was in honour of Mesa's centennial celebrations, according to a report from Burnaby's international relations and friendship cities committee, and focused on healthcare, education, aerospace, tourism and technology tours.
A delegation from Mesa - which is the third largest city in Arizona, much as Burnaby is the third largest city in B.C. - visited Burnaby in 2010.
