FACE TO FACE: Should the Tri-Cities examine amalgamating into one?
The contentious subject of amalgamation of the Tri-Cities pops up every couple of years.
The latest reincarnation of the issue came last month when Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore mused about it on his Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Common sense tells me that amalgamation of three similar cities, with relatively small populations, will lead to cost savings and economies of scale. Right now in the Tri-Cities, we pay for three fire chiefs, three city managers and three departments of everything.
And let's take a closer look at our bloated city councils.
When you include Anmore and Belcarra, the Tri-Cities have 28 city councillors and five mayors for a population of about 220,000 people. By comparison, the city of Vancouver, which has a population of about 600,000, has just 10 council members and one mayor.
Critics of amalgamation often point to the Toronto experience and cite ballooning property taxes as proof that the mega-city concept doesn't work. The rising costs in that city, however, had more to do with provincial downloading than anything else. And last time I checked, property taxes have been ballooning across Canada.
As usual, my colleague opposite wants to ignore the economics of the debate. He says amalgamation leads to the loss of residents' identity and the destruction of communities. But how will merging five city halls affect the community or neighbourhood you live in? You can still live in a distinctive and vibrant community, just like folks in Kitsilano or Kerrisdale do.
Others argue about the decline of democratic control over municipal government. The smaller the size of a political unit, they say, the higher the ability of residents to influence public policy.
That argument would have a little more weight if voter turnout for municipal elections wasn't so dismal. Seriously, how many of us have ever even contacted a city councillor or mayor?
I doubt our local politicians will ever push forward the idea of amalgamation no matter how much it makes sense. Their jobs are dependent on having separate cities, separate city halls and separate city councils. And city staffers will never really tout co-operation for the same reasons.
So, if Tri-City amalgamation is going to happen, it needs to be a citizens' initiative.
Andy Radia is a Coquitlam resident and political columnist who writes for Yahoo! Canada News and Vancouver View Magazine. He has been politically active in the Tri-Cities, having been involved with election campaigns at all three levels of government, including running for Coquitlam city council in 2005.
