While the Metro Vancouver board now plans on reconsidering pay raises they awarded themselves following a huge public outcry, there are new concerns about a number of travel expenses and office perks.
Port Coquitlam Mayor and board chair Greg Moore has billed more than $80,000 in travel expenses over the past five years. That includes 20 trips to destinations like Morocco, South Korea, London and two trips each to Paris and Australia.
Vancouver Coun. Raymond Louie has racked up a travel bill of more than $40,000 with visits to South Korea, Colombia, China and Ecuador, along with a number of destinations in Canada and the U.S.
WATCH: Metro Vancouver board spending
While in town, board members, along with Metro Vancouver staff, have exclusive access to a $1.5-million cafeteria located on the 29th floor of Metro Tower III in Burnaby.
They also have a discounted massage clinic where a session costs just $10.
The cafeteria, which offers stunning views and food at reasonable prices, is not open to the public.
They’re perks that West Vancouver Mayor Michael Smith feels are excessive.
“I think there is a sense of entitlement there that shouldn’t be there… there’s too many members of that Metro Board that have spent too much time in the public sector and they’ve lost track of how hard people are working to pay their taxes,” he told CKNW’s The Jon McComb Show.
Moore, however, notes that it’s not unusual for large organizations to have a cafeteria.
Metro Vancouver said the cafeteria is not subsidized by taxpayers but does operate on a cost recovery basis so prices here are a little lower because there isn’t a profit involved. And he suggested it was actually saving the organization money.
“One of the things we see out of the cafeteria is our staff having a meal together on their lunch break, talking… and creating a good corporate culture,” he said.
“That’s what you want in organizations is good corporate culture so that people want to stay there. It’s far more costly to have a higher churn rate.”
Kris Sims, B.C. Director with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, however, notes that Metro Vancouver staff have access to the nearby food court at the Metrotown shopping centre.
She goes on to say that it’s frustrating to see “that politicians and bureaucrats in Metro Vancouver get access to this exclusive restaurant at the top of the city.”
Regarding the massage therapy clinic, Metro Vancouver says the facility is staffed through a partnership with Vancouver Career College, by students who are completing their practicums.
It says the facility helps reduce stress and promote health, while increasing productivity and cutting back on absenteeism.
As for Smith’s criticism, Moore said there is no record of the West Vancouver mayor voting against budgets in recent years, including the acquisition of Metrotower III.
But Smith said he has raised concerns about spending.
“I mean, I’ve done things like move motion at the board to bring in a full time finance committee, to prove oversight of the $700 million dollars that goes through there, and it gets rejected,” he said.
— With files from Ted Chernecki
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