HST sinks TransLink in $57-million hole

Richard J. Dalton Jr., with files from Jonathan Fowlie, Vancouver Sun September 4, 2009

B.C.'s new harmonized sales tax will blow a $57-million-a-year hole in TransLink's future financial plans, TransLink and the provincial government confirmed Thursday.TransLink had counted on boosting a tax on commercial parking spaces, which now brings in $18 million a year, to raise $57 million annually.But because the parking tax is a sales tax, it is being eliminated and will be rolled into the HST when it is launched next July 1.

TransLink and transportation ministry officials were scrambling to find a way to fix the problem.If the hole isn't fixed by the time TransLink's mayors' council chooses among several financial options later this fall, the transportation authority may have to default to a base plan that requires it to make drastic service cuts.

The news came just as TransLink commissioner Martin Crilly released a report that contained a stern warning for TransLink to live within its means. Crilly said TransLink's preferred financial option, which would require $450 million a year in new revenue, is unrealistic because it hasn't nailed down where the money would come from. (more)

City hall resignations raise questions

CBC News: Monday, March 16, 2009

Questions are swirling at Vancouver city hall after two top officials announced their resignations in the past two weeks, bringing to four the number of high-level resignations in recent months. Senior staffers — Ray Holdgate, Dave Rudberg, Estelle Lo and Jody Andrews, — have resigned from their positions since Vision Vancouver won the civic election last November. Rudberg, Vancouver's general manager of Olympic and Paralympic operations, announced his retirement last week. According to city manager Penny Ballem, Rudberg — at age 65 — was simply burnt out. Similarly, Holdgate, Vancouver’s fire chief, said earlier this month he will also be retiring. The pending departure of Rudberg, along with January's departure of Andrews, the city’s Olympic Village project manager, are particularly surprising, given the nearness of the 2010 Games.City officials said Andrews was "unable to carry on his duties."Lo, the city’s director of finance, resigned in November due to a "personal matter."

Not worried about replacements

Coun. Suzanne Anton, a member of the Non-Partisan Association, said she is troubled by the trend. “There's a pattern here that I don't like the look of, of people now resigning. No one had any knowledge they were going to resign.” However, Ballem said she foresees no trouble filling the vacancies left by the high-profile civil servants. “I've got lots of people who are actually delighted to take on leadership roles, so no, I am not the least bit worried.” Ballem said she will meet with Rudberg before spring to discuss the city’s readiness for the games before she finds his replacement. The city’s handling of the Olympic Village construction project came under fire earlier this year when it was revealed Vancouver taxpayers could be on the hook for as much as $875 million to complete the project. The city had been covering the construction cost since October, when New York-based Fortress Investment Group, the major investor in the Olympic Athletes Village project, stopped advancing funds to Millennium Development Corp., which is building the village.