Surrey First Councillor Linda Annis says too many public infrastructure projects are out of financial control, with governments giving little in the way of detailed answers, or solutions.

 

"Whether it's the 50 per cent increase in the cost of the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain line, Metro Vancouver's wastewater treatment plant in North Vancouver, the Patullo Bridge replacement, or the new hospital in Cloverdale, project after project is over budget and behind time, with political leaders who are responsible for these mega projects basically shrugging  their shoulders and saying 'oh well', and just moving on and leaving taxpayers with the bill.”

 

Annis said when these projects are planned and costed by the professionals, then approved by the politicians, where is the accountability? Where is the forward thinking to take into account inflation, supply chains, and labour shortages?

 

“Taxpayers are not well-served when the budgets for these sorts of projects actually seem to mean nothing at the end of the day,” explained Annis. “This has become habit forming and it has to stop. On all of these projects we're not talking cost overruns of a few per cent or a few million dollars, instead we're talking about long delays, and whopping increases, often in the billions of dollars.”

 

Annis wants to know “how do we get it so wrong to start with”.

 

The Surrey-Langley SkyTrain line is now projected to cost $6 billion and will be a year late. Annis says it is doubtful that the $6 billion will be the final number.

 

"Seeing how these projects are being managed and costed right now, I have no confidence that we have seen the last of the increases or delays," added Annis. "Whatever formula or methodology we're using isn't working. Would we be better served by having public-private partnerships where more accountability and shared risk would be an incentive to get budgets right in the first place, then stick to them?

 

“Right now, we’re being told that you can have the infrastructure, but you cannot have any sort of budget guarantee or accountability. I believe we should be able to have both, and I think taxpayers agree.”

 

Annis said the Surrey-Langley line is good news, but even more transit around Surrey's growing neighbourhoods is needed, and overruns like this one make people nervous about new projects and out-of-control spending.

 

"Surrey definitely needs more transit, but telling Surrey and BC taxpayers that they need to cover ballooning budgets, no matter the cost, amounts to holding taxpayers hostage," noted Annis. "Taxpayers are not ATM machines for government incompetence. But right now, that's what we seem to have at so many levels. Under today's approach, budgets appear to mean nothing, and accountability is non-existent. We definitely need a new approach, with better and more accurate ways to cost, budget and construct these major infrastructure projects."

 

Annis said she is also concerned that these cost increases are made public only when a project is often too far along to turn back.

 

"The financial problems of these major projects do not happen overnight," said Annis. "If you are on top of a project you can see them coming from a mile away, which is when there has to be transparency. But that is not happening. Right now, taxpayers are given an ultimatum when it is really too late to reevaluate a project. The fact that we are seeing project after project fall into the bad habit of being late and over budget as a matter of course, is staggering. Taxpayers know we need transit, hospitals, bridges, and waste treatment plants, but that need should never stop us from demanding sharper budgets, more transparency, and better project management."