Discretionary Expenses: Are There Better Uses With Taxpayer Dollars?

With elevated inflation levels, currently sitting at 7.3% year-over-year in British Columbia, the pockets of Vancouverites are being stretched thin. Rising costs of living, specifically major factors like fuel, housing and food costs, have led Vancouverites to pose the question: how can our government help us save money?

On October 15, 2022, Vancouverites will head to the polls for a municipal election. Residents will vote on one mayor and ten city councillors along with park board commissioners, school trustees and capital plan questions.

Background of Discretionary Expenses in the City of Vancouver

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request obtained by Coastal Front uncovered rampant use of discretionary expenses in the mayoral office of Vancouver. In 2012, former mayor, Gregor Robertson spent $112,675 on discretionary expenses alone. With no information on spending in 2013 and 2014, Robertson spent $264,000 on discretionary expenses in 2015, a 134% increase over four years.

No mention of discretionary expenses surfaced in the city’s annual Statement of Financial Information (SOFI) prior to 2016. In a public meeting on June 14, 2016, the council of the City of Vancouver enacted the “Mayor and Councillor Expenses By-law” or by-law number 11529. 

This by-law outlines the eligible activities for discretionary expenses by the mayor and councillors without a defined limit. The limit is, as stated, “approved by Council as part of the city’s annual budget.”

Substantial Increase in Discretionary Expenses

The same year, taxpayers endured a 195% increase in discretionary expenses to $783,090. 2016 was also the first time that city councillors were given a sizable increase in discretionary expenses.

Spending continued from former Mayor Robertson to current Mayor Kennedy Stewart who spent $828,212 in 2020, an 8% increase from the previous year, despite abnormally high unemployment numbers in Metro Vancouver due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

In 2019, Mayor Stewart put forward a motion to increase city councillors discretionary expenses to $6,000 to “better serve public needs.”

In 2020, the mayor and city councillors collectively spent $956,880 in discretionary expenses. City councillors Coleen Hardwick and Melissa De Genova spent $29,864 and $25,000, respectively that same year. Hardwick publicly stated she has voted against every budget since 2018.

Since by-law 11529, taxpayers have been on the hook for $4,107,030 in discretionary expenses from the mayor and its staff.

Table 1: Data received from City of Vancouver via FOI request by Coastal Front

Purpose of Discretionary Expenses

In the City of Vancouver’s open data portal, discretionary expenses by the mayor “include eligible expenses incurred by the Mayor and/or by his political staff for expenses related to attending conferences, communications, consulting or contracted services, travel and training, research or community outreach” as indicated in by-law 11483.

In January 2019, Glacier Media reported on Mayor Stewart’s motion to increase discretionary expenses for councillors. “[With] the deluge of daily emails and phone calls, this money should go a long way to support their interaction with the public,” Stewart said.

City Councillor Candidate On Discretionary Expense Payroll - Conflict of Interest?

One current member of Mayor Stewart’s political staff, paid for by the city’s rising discretionary expenses, is the Director of Communications and Outreach, Alvin Singh. Singh has been in this position since 2018 and has been paid over $100,000 annually, funded entirely by municipal taxpayer dollars. Presently, Singh is running for City Councillor under Kennedy Stewart’s Forward Together party in the upcoming Vancouver Municipal Election on October 15, 2022.

Is it a conflict of interest to have a city employee that is dedicated to the communications and outreach of the mayor’s political party, simultaneously run for city council under the same party?

Is the Current Use of Discretionary Expenses a Misuse of Taxpayer Dollars?

The City of Vancouver’s discretionary expenses is predominantly spent to cover the payroll of the mayor’s political staff and to staff employees to respond to emails and schedule meetings, which were used under former Mayor Robertson and is currently being used by Mayor Stewart. 

A few questions need to be asked by taxpayers…

• Is this how Vancouverites want their taxpayer dollars spent?

• Is this the best use of limited resources?

• Are Vancouverites comfortable with the year-over-year increases in discretionary expenses, far higher than standard inflation rates?