If you’re looking for a place to get the ear of the mayor or a Burnaby city councillor, Riverway Golf Course is a pretty good bet, while Burnaby Mountain, not so much.
A breakdown of the complimentary pass system for 2015 showed local politicians, commissioners and dignitaries logged a total of $47,118 worth of use at city rec facilities.
The biggest chunk goes toward golf, and more specifically Riverway.
A total of $29,884 worth of complimentary play happened at Riverway, with another $11,274 at Burnaby Mountain.
Coun. Colleen Jordan was the politician who spent the most time on the links, racking up $5,156 worth of use, all at Riverway.
Mayor Derek Corrigan also favoured Riverway, with $3,618 worth of play, compared to $204 at Burnaby Mountain. He also spent less time on the course in 2015 compared to 2014, when he logged a total of $5,717.65 worth of tee times.
According to the documents, former parks commissioner Jim Kozak racked up the biggest total of anyone with the pass at $6,603, including $5,513 at Burnaby Mountain.
The passes, issued annually by the parks, recreation and culture commission, grant cardholders free access to numerous city facilities with an unrestricted number of guests. Additionally, the commission approves a list of complimentary pass recipients – including school trustees, library board members and other nominees – for similar perks with one guest.
But a taxpayer watchdog believes the city should abandon the practice and get out of the golf game entirely.
Jordan Bateman, the director of the B.C. chapter of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, suggested there is no shortage of private golf courses in the region, adding there’s no need for government to be involved in golf when there are core priorities that are more important.
“The public should be raising an eyebrow at free golf for the mayor and his council,” he told NOW.
Bateman also criticized the argument the golf outings are used as a business recruitment tool, noting other growing communities have been able to do the work successfully without playing golf.
He also challenged the city to release the list of all the guests of the mayor to see how many are involved in business.
Coun. Nick Volkow, who actually didn’t use the pass in 2015, doesn’t see an issue with the program.
He argued for parks commissioners, it’s a perk for people who are volunteering, adding in the end there is no real cost to the city.
“I think most people recognize the purpose of the pass and in particular for commissioners, it’s a volunteer position, they’re not paid,” Volkow said.
As for paid politicians receiving the pass, the councillor said golf provides an opportunity for the mayor or council to do business on the city’s behalf.
“I have no problem with it,” he said.
The pass program has a yearly limit of $50,000 across all users. In 2014, cardholders collectively reached $47,275.78.
Other big users with the system in 2015 include Coun. James Wang, ($3,300) and parks commissioners Wayne Peppard ($4,883) and Lance Matricardi ($3,650).
