The Metro Vancouver Mayors' Council on Regional Transportation has presented a large proposal listing sustainable funding options to the province for future metro Vancouver transportation projects, amongst them a potential sales tax hike.
But Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan said he's always reluctant to give "more and more" funding to TransLink.
The mayors' consensus saw a proposed 0.1 or up to 0.5 per cent sales tax increase regionally, which could net about $250 million to help with the funding gaps to TransLink.
"It's really frustrating for me as I advocate transit, but I also advocate smart use (of funding)," Corrigan said.
He also noted the provincial government has had a history of rejecting potential options made by the mayors' council in the past.
"If they reject this one they do so at their own peril," Corrigan added. "Either the provincial government comes up with its own long-term strategy for the TransLink budget or take it back."
Corrigan noted that no mayor in the region is willing to re-visit the idea of looking for funding through property taxes. Last April, the council voted against a $30-million property tax levy for TransLink expansion plans at that time.
"The difficulty I've been encountering is I'm coming from a fiscally conservative point of view and [I'm] asking them to exercise restraint," Corrigan said of TransLink's mounting "wish list" of new potential projects.
North Vancouver Mayor Richard Walton, who chairs the council, said the sales tax increase is only one suggestion, while the other one to note is the comprehensive road-pricing system.
The system would "place a fair-shared value on the movement of goods and people on roads and rails throughout the region," according to a Feb. 5 media release.
"The mayors have been unanimous in this," Walton told the Burnaby NOW.
