Scrapping Vancouver Park Board could save $7M a year, report finds

Eliminating Vancouver’s elected parkland committee could prevention the metropolis astir $7 cardinal per year, according to a study heading to assembly adjacent week.

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim unveiled the Parks and Recreation Transition Group’s last report Thursday, which suggested the savings would travel from efficiencies, streamlined processes and reduced duplication.

The study besides argued that the integration of parks and recreation nether assembly authorization could assistance guarantee 36 hectares of parkland presently designated arsenic “temporary” were reclassified arsenic permanent.

“This modulation isn’t conscionable astir governance,” Sim said.

“It’s astir unlocking opportunities to save, to amended and to invest. Now, by streamlining services, cutting duplication, eliminating unnecessary reddish tape, we’re going to prevention Vancouverites $70 cardinal implicit the adjacent decade.”

The study states that delays related to duplication successful authorization betwixt the 2 elected bodies added astir $15 cardinal successful added costs to metropolis projects implicit the past 4 years, peculiarly related to construction.

“Right now, getting permits for events similar festivals oregon filming tin beryllium a frustrating, multi-step process, and we’re going to alteration that,” Sim said.

The modulation group’s study recommends replacing the oversight duties of elected parkland committee members with a metropolis assembly subcommittee connected parks and recreation, made up of 5 councillors. The committee would counsel the afloat assembly and correspond the metropolis successful talks with different authorities bodies connected parks and recreation issues.

Completing the modulation would necessitate updating 18 metropolis bylaws, integrating duplicated teams and aligning policies betwixt the metropolis and parks departments, the study states.

Sim announced plans to abolish the city’s elected parkland committee past December, contempt campaigning connected retaining and improving it successful the 2022 election. At the time, Sim said the elected assemblage was “broken,” and that eliminating it would align Vancouver with different large Canadian cities.

The determination has met with absorption from immoderate assemblage groups and a bulk of elected parks commissioners, including 3 who divided with Sim’s ABC Vancouver enactment implicit the plan.

That includes autarkic commissioner Laura Christensen, who said she doesn’t spot the fiscal figures successful the modulation group’s report.

“There’s nary backup connected wherever these numbers came from. They came up with this fig of $7 cardinal a year, but the study itself says its hard and they are incapable to truly estimation what those savings are,” she said.

She added the savings were minuscule successful the discourse of Vancouver’s multi-billion-dollar operating budget, and that the Park Board had managed to boost its ain revenues by $4.5 cardinal past twelvemonth alone.

“$7 cardinal a year, successful the expansive strategy of the metropolis budget, is not huge,” she said. “For example, successful the 2025 budget, the VPD is requesting a $22 cardinal summation to their budget.”

Christensen besides criticized the report’s decision abolishing the committee would assistance guarantee impermanent parks are made permanent, thing she said metropolis assembly could already bash time if it wished.

Vancouver Green Coun, Adrianne Carr said her colleagues are already dealing with a dense workload, and taking connected caller committee obligations would beryllium difficult.

“I already enactment astir 60 to 70 hours a week,” she said.

“So for me, it’s astir intolerable to deliberation astir taking connected an other 2 days a week and successful workload.”

The study notes respective challenges with completing the transition, including worker concerns and uncertainties astir their roles, reporting structures and occupation security.

It besides highlighted concerns from the nationalist astir losing dedicated parks oversight and specialized expertise and fears that smaller assemblage groups could person their voices overshadowed by larger groups nether the caller structure.

It recommends mitigating those concerns with the instauration of a Parks and Recreation Community Partner Relations Office, to grip engagement with stakeholders and guarantee stableness crossed elected metropolis administrations.

While the modulation study is slated to spell to assembly adjacent week, it volition beryllium immoderate clip earlier determination is immoderate question connected the issue.

Eliminating the parkland committee volition necessitate the provincial authorities to marque changes to the Vancouver Charter.

B.C.’s NDP authorities has fixed its support successful principle, but has not fixed a timeline connected erstwhile those changes could instrumentality place.