Metro Vancouver to reduce utility bill costs for residents after spending review

Akshay Kulkarni · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 10, 2025 9:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

The Metro Vancouver Regional District has approved a unit program to trim the taxes it charges to residents successful the adjacent 2 years aft a spending review.

Metro Vancouver is comprised of 21 municipalities, 1 electoral country and 1 First Nation, and it co-ordinates determination services similar sewage, drinking h2o and determination parks.

The determination territory has travel nether a batch of scrutiny precocious — particularly aft the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant fiasco, wherever the outgo of a new plant was forecast astatine $700 million, but ballooned much than 5 times higher to $3.86 billion following a bid of problems.

Metro Vancouver's committee of directors approved a unit spending reappraisal connected Wednesday that changes erstwhile immoderate projects volition beryllium delivered, and reduces spending connected superior infrastructure and consulting services, among different things.

WATCH | Metro Vancouver cuts spending: 

The reappraisal means residents successful the portion tin expect to wage little connected their inferior measure for the adjacent 2 years, with the complaint summation that was acceptable to beryllium charged adjacent twelvemonth chopped successful half.

Now, the mean household volition wage $896 successful 2026, alternatively of the $918 that was forecast nether the archetypal plan.

"We're prioritizing indispensable repairs, phasing improvements implicit clip alternatively than renovating everything astatine once, and doing much enactment in-house alternatively of relying connected contractors," said Metro Vancouver committee vice-chair John McEwen successful a statement.

McEwen, who is besides the politician of Anmore, said the spending reappraisal addressed outgo concerns from residents portion maintaining semipermanent sustainability.

The caller five-year fund projects a simplification successful operating costs by much than $300 cardinal and infrastructure costs by much than $1.1 billion.

WATCH | Motion projected to chopped directors' compensation: 

But Vancouver Coun. Mike Klassen, who is 1 of the Metro Vancouver committee directors, said that 1 of the large reasons for the summation was the wastewater works upgrades that are mandated by national regulations.

"I deliberation these costs are genuinely being foisted connected our region," helium told the meeting. "And we're being, benignant of, near scrambling trying to fig retired however to wage for them.

"Much of the enactment that seems that's happening present is, arsenic bully arsenic it is, is pushing things further into the future," helium added. "Eventually those bills are going to person to get paid."

Metro Vancouver's committee volition ballot connected its last fund and five-year program successful October.

There's besides an ongoing reappraisal of the board's expenses and remuneration for its committee and executives, which is expected to beryllium dealt with aboriginal this month.