Vancouver councillors today voted unanimously for a measure calling on the province to consider changes to the city's charter that would allow the city to potentially borrow $458 million to help complete the Olympic village.
Mayor Gregor Robertson told reporters earlier this morning that he would be presenting a motion in the special council meeting to formally ask the provincial government and opposition to hold a special legislative session on the issue.
Specifically, the council measure asks the province to grant the city authority to borrow money without holding a referendum. Currently, the city presents such requests in its capital plan, which is presented to voters every three years.
The mayor said the city will be looking for the power to borrow the $458 million he estimated was needed to complete the project. Robertson said the city won’t necessarily seek the funding, but wants the right to do so to strengthen its hand in ongoing negotiations with Fortress Investment, the project’s main financier.
“What we require right now is a tool so that we are able to negotiate more fully with our partners in this and make the best possible deal for Vancouver taxpayers,” Robertson said.
Fortress originally promised a $750 million construction loan to Millennium Development for the athlete’s village. So far, less than half of that has been paid out and Fortress stopped making payments in September 2008.
Robertson said the city is seeking “stability” above all else in its negotiations with Fortress. Though he said the intention of the city is not to buy out the New York-based hedge fund, he suggested that future financial arrangements might not involve the company.
“We are going to use all the means we have to negotiate the best deal for taxpayers,” he said. “If Fortress is part of that as they have been in the past so be it.”
Non-Partisan Association Coun. Suzanne Anton said Vancouver won’t likely get funding from the provincial or federal governments if the city can’t arrange a financing solution with Fortress.
“We’re not asking for money cap in hand,” Anton said. “We’re not anticipating right now a cash infusion from either the federal or provincial government.”
The NPA councillor added that Mayor Robertson has been a bit alarmist by suggesting that Vancouver taxpayers might have to pony up the full cost of the athlete’s village.
“When he says taxpayers are on the hook for a billion dollars, that’s far from the truth,” Anton said. “There is an asset there which will be sold by the end of the day.”
She said that 36 per cent of the 750 condos have been sold so far. Robertson said the city has roughly $40 million in deposits from $240 million in condo presales.
-- Geoff Dembicki is a staff reporter for the Hook.
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thu
3 years ago
Political 3-Ring Circus
Robertson is attempting to fan the flames of partisanship in order to get the anti-Olympics crowd frothing at the mouth so that he can then direct their vitriol at the NPA and make it appear that he's saving the day. How disingenuous! Turning the city's financial problems into a 3-ring circus to score political points is appalling.
But, with so many secret meetings -- some where the press are sent into a room and told they can't talk about anything they've been told by un-named city officials -- the truth is being clouded further and sensationalized in the media. Headlines of Billion Dollar loses are outrageous and untrue.
It's also ironic that Geoff Meggs, who was in charge of authoring the Vancouver Olympics Bid Book years ago, is now out there playing the same Blame Game that Gregor has started. So, even though he voted for it, he's now against it?? What a hypocrite.
I'd like to see Gregor and Vision exhibit some of that Leadership they promised they would bring to City Hall during the election. So far, I've seen nothing but pointless political theatre that gets us nowhere.
jb baker
3 years ago
Full disclosure
To ensure that there is or has been no conflict of interest in relation to this matter all members of Council should disclose whether they have any personal interest in any of the units. They are obliged by law to disclose any such interest in which case they may not participate or vote on any related matters pertaining to the bailout.
Secondly, they should disclose what section of the Vancouver Charter they relied upon to justify holding past meetings in camera.
Jonathan Baker
Skywalker
3 years ago
Oh please!
I guess when you shine the light of truth on such a costly oversight you can always expect someone to come out with comment like "Turning the city's financial problems into a 3-ring circus to score political points is appalling." I guess they should have continued to keep the public in the dark and then it would not be a three-ring circus. Maybe Robertson could have resurrected the old line "The olympics could no more have a deficit than I could have a baby."
zalm
3 years ago
thu
"Robertson is attempting to fan the flames of partisanship in order to get the anti-Olympics crowd frothing at the mouth so that he can then direct their vitriol at the NPA and make it appear that he's saving the day. How disingenuous! Turning the city's financial problems into a 3-ring circus to score political points is appalling."
Thu, the pro-Olympics crowd is frothing at the mouth! Haven't you listened to Open-Mouth AM980 or read the tabs?
And there's no saving the day from this. This whole effort is full of scoundrels from one end to the other, and Gregor can't do better than one each on red and black and come out even. But he could come out a helluva lot worse.
Disingenuous is a pretty big word for you, who can't recognize that a 5-ring circus turned the city into a financial problem, and is now proceeding to pick you up by your feet and shake every last shekel out of your pockets for the next few years.
yasmar
3 years ago
Olympic village
I think it's great that the city is going to own these over-priced condos. They will make excellent homes for all the homeless folks roaming Vancouver's streets.
Dan the socialist
3 years ago
The city of Vancouver and
The city of Vancouver and the city of Vancouver only were the only ones allowed to 'vote' for these games, not Burnaby, not Surrey, not the rest of the Lower Mainland let alone the rest of the province.
You are 'reaping what you sow' now. People in the City of Vancouver voted for it and now you are going to pay through the nose for it. You will get higher property taxes and renters rents will be raised as well.
I also saw on the news the feds and province are not going to bail the city out.
If there was a province wide vote I doubt the Olympic vote would of passed and polls at the time showed it would not pass in a province wide vote.
This is only the beginning as there will be more than enough Olympic debt for the rest of the tax payers in BC to pay too..
thu
3 years ago
Keep your personal insults to yourself.
I always wonder why some always feel the need to insult someone's intelligence (see above) if they don't agree with your point of view. I guess it makes them feel superior and good about their miserable lives.
NicS
3 years ago
Only Fools Rush In!
Or how bad can it get? How many $billions are we going to be in debt by the time the games are over? Unless Robertson and company and the next provincial govt. stop the madness, our provincial and municipal debts are going to be such a massive burden on us the taxpayers, it won't be worth living here anymore. We are considering selling our home and leaving the province for greener, less debt infested pastures.
I thought Robertson had his head on straight, yet he's going full steam ahead to borrow whatever he has to, to keep the games on track.
yasmar
3 years ago
Olympic debt
I foresee a crumbling infrastructure in the years ahead and I kind of like it. Have a look at Montreal. Their city is sort of falling apart, but somehow they manage to put together enough funds to barely cover their city-wide costs, such as garbage disposal (which is always fun to watch in Montreal, thanks to the eccentric character of their garbagemen). Montreal is a functioning model of a third world city right here in Canada.
Skywalker
3 years ago
thu
What was the personal insult. It seems to be that all the responses were commenting on you post. That's called debating the issue.