Coquitlam residents won't get a chance to vote on who they want to represent them at Metro Vancouver - at least, not in November.
This week, city council quashed the motion by Coun. Lou Sekora, saying the current system of appointing directors to the regional board is the best solution for now.
Sekora, who is a Coquitlam director with Mayor Richard Stewart, contended Metro Vancouver directors are unaccountable to taxpayers and get paid handsomely for little work.
According to a report released last month by the finance committee, Sekora reaped $966 last year for his Metro board duties while Stewart collected $11,701 as a board director and as a member on the regional planning committee and parks committee.
Directors are paid $322 per meeting and, if business goes over four hours, they are paid double. The rate is based on a percentage of the Metro Vancouver board chair's remuneration.
"We got a whole board with approximately an $800-million budget," Sekora said, "and none of them are elected. How many businessmen are on that board? Two? Three? Period.
"To me," he said, "it appears since I sat there in the last few months, like it's a friendship group in there. A bunch a Yes people. Nobody questions anything. Just rubber-stamp, rubber-stamp, rubber-stamp. Pick up your paycheque and away you go."
Coun. Mae Reid, who is currently on the Coquitlam panel to negotiate with Metro Vancouver on the Regional Growth Strategy, said she doesn't want to rock the boat with the regional body.
"I just do not think that this is something we should be dealing with - especially at this time," she said of Sekora's motion. "I think this is something that should be discussed at Metro Vancouver.... I do not believe it's our place to take this on so I won't be supporting this in any way."
Her comments were echoed by Coun. Neal Nicholson, who said Coquitlam shouldn't be electing MV directors alone.
Coun. Brent Asmundson, who is also an MV committee member, said having the voters choose who they want at the board could be dangerous as council then doesn't have the ability to pull a director if he or she votes contrary to council's wishes (several years back, Coquitlam director and former councillor Fin Donnelly voted against the Gateway project though council was in favour of the provincial transportation program).
Mayor Stewart agreed the MV remuneration is "out of whack" and its structure needs to be reviewed.
"I think there are elements of it that need analysis," he said, "and I would like to see that analysis for the good of the region and for the good of the work that it does because Metro Vancouver does some really, really important work in sewer, in water, in solid waste and now, in an expanding role, into regional planning, air quality, water quality and even food distribution system."
However, there would be legal implications should directors be elected, Stewart said.
As a result of Monday's defeated vote, there is not enough time to have a referendum question on the November ballot, city clerk Jay Clerk has said.
