When Victoria’s new mayor and council took office in 2014, there were 254 city employees earning more than $75,000 dollars a year.
Those numbers have proven costly, totaling 44 per cent of the city’s salary costs.
“I’ve heard really clearly that, yes, spending has gone up and up and up,” said Mayor Lisa Helps.
A new report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business is calling Victoria the nation’s worst offender when it comes to municipal spending.
“We saw operating budgets grow six times faster than the population growth,” said the CFIB’s Richard Truscott. “Six times faster than the ability for the tax base to pay for that. That simply is not sustainable for the long term.”
B.C.’s capital is not alone. The report looked at major cities cross Canada and found that the trend is widespread.
Between 2003 and 2013, real operating spending increased by 43 per cent across the board. During the same time period, the population only grew by 11 per cent.
The biggest drain? A rapidly expanding workforce paired with higher wages and expensive benefits.
During the past decade, that’s up 23 per cent in Victoria and 15 per cent in Vancouver.
To reverse this trend, the CFIB is calling on senior levels of government to freeze additional funding to municipalities until cities can better manage their spending.
“We’ve taken a more proactive approach,” said Peter Fassbender, minister of community, sport and cultural development. “Our goal is to work with local governments, challenge them as we’ve challenged ourselves to look at our spending and make sure we make decisions with one thing in mind: there is only one taxpayer.”
Some cities have made progress. Ottawa and Toronto have kept their spending close to the population growth benchmark, while Montreal has reduced personnel costs.
Mayor Helps and council plan to follow their lead. Positions have been cut, and the budgeting process has been overhauled.
It will take time, but Helps said they are determined to turn things around.
“Victoria has been the worst offender,” she said. “We knew this was an issue and we’re taking it seriously.”
-With files from Kylie Stanton
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