Having so much fun, they want an extra year!

Of the many key developments that came out of last weeks UBCM meet and greet, one that has caught our attention was a call by municipal politicians to add a year to their elected term of office.

As it stands at the moment, in British Columbia municipal councils sit for a term of three years but with a narrow margin of victory, the recommendation has been made to extend that to a four year term.

Joe Trasolini, the mayor of Port Moody put forward the motion at last weeks convention, explaining that three years was just too short a period of time to bring forward the many things that busy municipal councillors would like to see done.

This years convention reversed the vote of last year, where the same resolution was defeated as the rural and smaller centre politicians expressed concerns about the ability to attract good candidates for office willing to tether themselves to city hall for four years.

While the resolution passed, it will still be up to the provincial government to decide whether to bring the issue to the Legislature and effect change, if B. C. decides to go ahead with the change that will leave only Alberta, Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island as provinces with three year terms for municipal council.

The Vancouver Sun provided details on the potential change to elected terms as well as the approval of a resolution to increase the minimum wage in the province to ten dollars.

A little carrot for the potential voters, who perhaps will remember it come that fourth year of the term with an election on the horizon..

Municipal councils to ask for 4-year terms
Local governments want Victoria to change current 3-year terms
Fiona Anderson
Vancouver Sun
Friday, September 28, 2007

British Columbia municipalities have narrowly voted in favour of asking the province to hold municipal elections every four years instead of the current three.

A three-year term is too short to be productive, said Joe Trasolini, the mayor of Port Moody, which put forward the motion at the annual convention of the Union of B.C. Municipalities being held this week in Vancouver.

It takes the better part of one year to get a new council to jell and work as a team, Trasolini said in an interview. Then in the third year the focus is on the next election. So it's only during the second year that things can get done, he said.

"The way the system is, out of three years you get one productive year," Trasolini said.
And Trasolini said communities need the continuity that four years would provide.

Elected officials aren't bound by what the previous council has passed, so for major initiatives, that continuity is key to getting the job done, he said.

Much of the opposition voiced at the convention came from those in smaller and rural communities who worried they would have difficulty attracting people to run for council if the job required a four-year commitment. Given pay levels, most perform their elected duties on top of other full-time jobs.

At last year's UBCM convention, this group won the day as a virtually identical resolution was narrowly defeated.

It is now up to the province to decide whether the law will in fact be changed. Elsewhere in Canada, only Alberta, Saskatchewan and Prince Edward island do not have four-year terms.
"I think the province will look at the merits and will probably at least debate it," Trasolini said.
"After all, we are the ones dealing on a day-to-day basis with these issues. So it would make sense that they would listen to us."

The UBCM also voted Thursday in favour of calling on the province to raise the minimum wage to $10 after a speech by NDP leader Carole James supporting the increase.

"The premier took a $54,000 increase for himself this year," she said. "And I think it's past time that we gave B.C.'s lowest-paid workers the same consideration."

And if the minimum wage isn't increased now, when the provincial economy is booming, when will it be? James asked.

In other resolutions, the UBCM voted to:

Ask the province to require annual or twice-yearly inspections of all commercial trucks, depending on size.

Ask the province to specifically regulate the keeping and sale of exotic animals by including a list of exotic animals that are prohibited.

Ask the federal government to return to local governments one cent out of every six cents collected through the goods and services tax.

A resolution to ask the Ministry of the Environment to prohibit the use of patio heaters was defeated. More resolutions will be considered today, including whether the UBCM should ask the province to scrap its single business licence initiative and allow municipalities to remain in control of business licences within their jurisdictions.