Developers ought to face steeper fines; elected officials need mental health supports, UBCM agrees
Like everything else, the price of municipal violations might be going up.
The Union of B.C. Municipalities is set to ask the province to raise the threshold of municipal fines from $500 to $3,000, following a request from Coquitlam.
Coquitlam brought the idea to the recent UBCM conference, arguing $500 fines are too slight to be an “adequate deterrent” to developers, according to a city staff report.
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Previous efforts to mete out harsher punishments have been unsuccessful, as the province has been: “unwilling to meaningfully consider this change,” according to city staff.
The UBCM is designed to allow municipalities speak with one voice and to more effectively lobby the province.
Mental health supports
Coquitlam also advocated for the province to provide mental health supports for local government officials, in part due to some unique and unfortunate features of the job, said Mayor Richard Stewart, discussing the issue earlier this year.
“People don’t realize that elected officials like city council members are among the only persons in B.C. that have paid employment that aren’t considered as employees under WorkSafeBC, they’re not covered by the Employment Standards Act,” he said. “We don’t carry those rights.”
Elected officials face worsening mental health, “due to a degradation in the tone of civil discourse,” the motion stated.
The motion asks the province to: “implement initiatives that offer mental health supports tailored to the needs of local elected leaders in British Columbia.”
The motion, which was also brought forward by Maple Ridge, was endorsed by UBCM.
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