LOCAL GOVERNMENT REORGANIZATION: A CASE STUDY IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT CHANGE IN NANAIMO, B.C. by B. DEANE STRONGITHARM B. A., Geography, U n i v e r s i t y o f V i c t o r i a , 1973 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS i n the School of Community and Regional P l a n n i n g We accept t h i s t h e s i s as c o n f i r m i n g to the r e q u i r e d s t a n d a r d THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA October, 1975 In p r e s e n t i n g t h i s t h e s i s i n p a r t i a l f u l f i l m e n t o f the r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r an advanced degree at the U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a , I agre e t h a t the L i b r a r y s h a l l make i t f r e e l y a v a i l a b l e f o r r e f e r e n c e and study . I f u r t h e r agree t h a t p e r m i s s i o n f o r e x t e n s i v e c o p y i n g o f t h i s t h e s i s f o r s c h o l a r l y p u rposes may be g r a n t e d by the Head o f my Department o r by h i s r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s . I t i s u n d e r s t o o d t h a t c o p y i n g o r p u b l i c a t i o n o f t h i s t h e s i s f o r f i n a n c i a l g a i n s h a l l not be a l l o w e d w i t h o u t my w r i t t e n p e r m i s s i o n . Department o f Community and Regional P l a n n i n g The U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Columbia 2075 Wesbrook Place Vancouver, Canada V6T 1W5 Date October, 1975 i i ABSTRACT T h i s t h e s i s i s an examination o f the boundary r e s t r u c t u r e e f f o r t s of Nanaimo, B.C. I t examines and compares both the background which p r e c i p i t a t e d the r e s t r u c t u r e referendum and the a c t i o n s and a t t i t u d e s by i n d i v i d u a l s , groups, and Government t h a t p r e f a c e d the November 2, 1974 vote. I t a l s o e x p l o r e s the l i t e r a t u r e and l e g i s l a t i o n t h a t i s germane to the a n a l y s i s and r e l a t e s i t t o the above. F i n a l l y , some c o n s i d e r a t i o n i s g i v e n t o s p e c u l a t i n g probable e f f e c t s of the amalgamation d e c i s i o n . While there are many reasons which e x p l a i n the need f o r a re-alignment of l o c a l Government boundaries, the p r i n c i p a l one i s t h a t the e x i s t i n g p o l i t i c a l s t r u c t u r e impedes the most e f f e c t i v e d e l i v e r y of s e r v i c e s to the p u b l i c . The author's i n v e s t i g a t i o n s r e v e a l e d t h a t there were important c o n f l i c t s i n the p a t t e r n o f l o c a l Government i n Nanaimo t h a t c o u l d be m i t i g a t e d w i t h amalgamation. I r r e s p e c t i v e of the s t a t e d b e n e f i t s , a s i g n i f i c a n t segment of the p o p u l a t i o n opposed amalagamation. O p p o s i t i o n sentiment was based on a v a r i e t y of arguments, wi t h the e f f e c t s on taxes a p p a r e n t l y the most v o c a l i s s u e . O p p o s i t i o n sentiment was o b v i o u s l y s t r o n g as the outcome of the referendum showed t h a t o n l y 52% were i n favour of amalgamation. T h i s d e s p i t e the f a c t t h a t a thorough examination of the i m p l i c a t i o n s of r e s t r u c t u r e i i i b y a s p e c i a l r e s t r u c t u r e c o m m i t t e e c o n c l u d e d t h a t t h e r e w o u l d b e l i t t l e i n i t i a l i m p a c t o n t h e t a x b u r d e n . I n g e n e r a l , t h e t h e s i s i s a n a s s e s s m e n t o f a n e v e n t , a n d a s s u c h , n o s p e c i f i c o r p r e - c o n c e i v e d h y p o t h e s i s w a s s t a t e d . T h r e e r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s o f p a r t i c u l a r n o t e , c o n c l u d e d s p e c i f i c a l l y f r o m t h e c a s e s t u d y a r e : ( i ) t h e n e e d f o r a n i m m e d i a t e c h a n g e i n p r o p e r t y t a x a t i o n l a w s a f f e c t i n g n o n - m u n i c i p a l a r e a s i n B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a t o b r i n g t h e t a x e s i n l i n e w i t h t h e a c t u a l c o s t o f s e r v i c e s p r o v i d e d b y t h e p r o v i n c e t o n o n - m u n i c i p a l a r e a s . ( i i ) t h e P r o v i n c i a l G o v e r n m e n t , i n t h e N a n a i m o s i t u a t i o n , s h o u l d b e p r e p a r e d t o a u g m e n t t h e i r e x i s t i n g f i n a n c i a l c o m m i t m e n t t o h e l p d e f r a y u n a n t i c i p a t e d c o s t s i f t h e y ( c o s t s ) b e c o m e e x c e s s i v e l y b u r d e n s o m e . I n f u t u r e r e s t r u c t u r e p r o p o s a l s , h o w e v e r t h e P r o v i n c e s h o u l d c o n s i d e r u n d e r t a k i n g a m o r e c o m p r e h e n s i v e r e v i e w o f c o s t f i g u r e s , p r o j e c t e d b y l o c a l r e s t r u c t u r e c o m m i t t e e s t o e n s u r e t h e i r a c c u r a c y . ( i i i ) i n a n y f u t u r e r e s t r u c t u r e p r o p o s a l s , t h e P r o v i n c i a l G o v e r n m e n t s h o u l d e n s u r e t h a t t h e l o c a l p e o p l e r e s p o n s i b l e f o r a d m i n i s t e r i n g t h e r e s t r u c t u r e p r o g r a m h a v e e n g a g e d i n a n a c t i v e a n d e f f e c t i v e c a m p a i g n o f m a k i n g t h e l o c a l c i t i z e n s . a w a r e o f t h e f u l l r a m i f i c a t i o n s o f a m a l g a m a t i o n , ( b o t h t h e p o s i t i v e a n d n e g a t i v e a s p e c t s ) , a n d t h a t a c o n c e r t e d e f f o r t i s m a d e t o e n c o u r a g e t h e p a r t i c i p a t i o n o f a l l r e s i d e n t s . TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE LIST OF TABLES v i i LIST OF DIAGRAMS v i i i CHAPTER 1 A. INTRODUCTION 1 B. STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES 6 C. DIGRESSION 9 CHAPTER 2 A. INTRODUCTION 13 B. THE FUNCTION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT 14 (a) V o t i n g Access and R e s t r u c t u r i n g L o c a l Government 16 (b) Type of S e r v i c e s S u p p l i e d by L o c a l Government 18 C. THE ORGANIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE IN BRITISH COLUMBIA 24 (a) Types o f M u n i c i p a l i t i e s 27 (b) Regional D i s t r i c t s 30 (c) Non-Municipal Government O r g a n i z a t i o n 32 (d) L e g a l I m p l i c a t i o n s o f Amalgamation i n B r i t i s h Columbia 35 D. POSITIONS FOR AND AGAINST AMALGAMATION 36 (a) P o s i t i o n s f o r Amalgamation 37 (b) P o s i t i o n s a g a i n s t Amalgamation. 43 V PAGE E. SUMMARY 47 CHAPTER 3 A. INTRODUCTION 54 B. DEVELOPMENT PATTERN OF THE NANAIMO AREA 57 C. GROWTH AND SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF GREATER NANAIMO 6 0 (a) L o c a t i o n 60 (b) P o p u l a t i o n Change and Development C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s 61 (c) Social-Economic C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s 69 CHAPTER 4 A. INTRODUCTION 7 4 B. POLITICAL STRUCTURE IN NANAIMO BEFORE AMALGAMATION 7 5 (a) C i t y o f Nanaimo and Improvement D i s t r i c t s . . 76 (b) Regional Agencies 78 Regional D i s t r i c t 78 Greater Nanaimo Water D i s t r i c t 8 0 - School D i s t r i c t #6 8 80 (c) P r o v i n c i a l Government 81 (d) Other Bodies 82 C. PROBLEMS CAUSED BY THE EXISTING POLICICAL STRUCTURE IN GREATER NANAIMO 85 (a) D i f f e r e n c e s i n L e v e l s o f S e r v i c e . . . . 87 (b) D i s t r i b u t i o n o f B e n e f i t s and Costs 92 Re c r e a t i o n 94 Taxat i o n - m i l l r a t e 96 Tax V a l u a t i o n . . . . Others An E x p l o i t a t i o n Paradigm (c) P l a n n i n g and C o - o r d i n a t i o n i n Greater Nanaimo D. SUMMARY CHAPTER 5 A. INTRODUTION B. BACKGROUND TO 19 70 VOTE... C. INTERIM PERIOD - 19 70 - 19 74 D. RESTRUCTURE - 19 74 E. PROVINCIAL CONTRIBUTION .„ F. RESTRUCTURE OBSERVATIONS CHAPTER 6 A. INTRODUCTION....... B. OBSERVATIONS RECOMMENDATIONS AND FURTHER RESEARCH C. FURTHER RESEARCH D. SUMMARY BIBLIOGRAPHY v i i LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. MAJOR URBAN SERVICES 19 2. POPULATION CHANGE 1961-1971 63 3. AREA AND DENSITY 64 4. AGE OF RESIDENTIAL DWELLINGS AS A PER- ] \ PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL DWELLINGS CONSTRUCTED 65 5. DOLLAR VALUE OF BUILDING PERMITS 66 6. EDUCATION OF HOUSEHOLD 70 7. AVERAGE FAMILY INCOME 71 8. LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND THEIR FUNCTION IN GREATER NANAIMO 8 8 9. PERCENT OF RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES SERVICED BY STREET-LIGHTING, WATER AND SEWER 91 10. MILL RATES AND USER TAXES 93 11. PER CAPITA OPERATING AND CAPITAL EXPEND-ITURES OF MAJOR SERVICES IN GREATER NAN-IMO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS 95 v i i i LIST OF DIAGRAMS Diagram Table 1. MAP OF BRITISH COLUMBIA 55 2. MAP OF GREATER NANAIMO 56 3. LOCATION OF HOUSING COMPARISONS 104 CHAPTER 1 A. INTRODUCTION Much concern has been expressed i n r e c e n t years on reforming the p o l i t i c a l s t r u c t u r e of l o c a l government to improve the d e l i v e r y o f goods and s e r v i c e s w i t h i n m u n i c i p a l u n i t s . "Reform i s based on the assumption t h a t the e x i s t i n g governmental s t r u c t u r e s cause people to o r d e r t h e i r r e l a t i o n s h i p s w i t h one another . i n a way t h a t i s unproductive or dysfunctional'.' A number of f a c t o r s have c o n t r i b u t e d to the growing push f o r reform. The most common are: (i) the 2 consequence of u r b a n i z a t i o n ; ( i i ) the f i s c a l squeeze on 3 l o c a l government; and ( i i i ) i n c r e a s e d m o b i l i t y . . To a l a r g e e x t e n t , a l l three f a c t o r s stem from the outward expansion o f the c i t y and the contiguous areas which has been made p o s s i b l e by improvements i n t r a n s p o r t a t i o n . T h i s has enabled the c i t y worker to migrate from the c e n t e r o f the c i t y to the suburbs or surrounding country s i d e and commute to h i s p l a c e of b u s i n e s s . The r e l a t i v e l y g r e a t e r ease i n o b t a i n i n g l a n d , the p o s s i b i l i t y o f lower taxes and the p r e s t i g e a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a surburban home has encouraged the outward movement of people beyond the p o l i t i c boundaries of the c i t y c o r e. P l u n k e t t has i d e n t i f i e d t h i s problem and he s t a t e s : "In Canada, the p o l i t i c a l boundaries of. l o c a l government...were e s t a b l i s h e d long b e f o r e the advent of the automobile, i n an era t h a t was p r i m a r i l y r u r a l o r i e n t e d . T h i s d i s t i n c t i o n between urban and r u r a l communities was o r i g i n a l l y c l e a r cut...towns and c i t i e s were r e c o g n i z a b l e e n t i t i e s and f o r the most p a r t , r u r a l areas were separate and d i s t i n c t r e g i o n s . The p o l i t i c a l boundaries c o r -responded to the economic and s o c i a l r e a l i t y of the town or r u r a l area. The economy of the time was r e l a t i v e l y simple and there was l i t t l e economic interdependence between l o c a l areas. The s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e of the i n d i v i d u a l community was such t h a t there were s t r o n g r e g i o n a l l o y a l t i e s , t here was l i t t l e g e n e r a l concern about a f f a i r s beyond i t s boundaries... Such i s no longer the case today. With i n c r e a s i n g urban-i z a t i o n , many communities are f a c e d w i t h a v a r i e t y of new requirements and needs" which cannot be met by o l d e r p o l i t i c a l i n s t i t u t i o n s . " The consequence of u r b a n i z a t i o n s p i l l i n g beyond the p o l i t i c a l boundaries of c i t i e s and towns, has been the p e r m i s s i v e s c a t t e r a t i o n and l e a p f r o g g i n g of development -c h i e f l y caused by the l a c k of a s t r u c t u r a l a u t h o r i t y to c o n t r o l and s u p e r v i s e the use of l a n d . The consequence has been s e r v i c e d e f e c t s and heavy c o s t s i n the long run when these d e f i c i e n c i e s have t o .be' c o r r e c t e d . And this, outcome i s o n l y one s i d e of a double-edged blade. When o u t s i d e areas f i n a l l y do become o r g a n i z e d and standards and r e g u l a t i o n s are i n s t i t u t e d , the i n c o r p o r t e r r i t o r i a l boundaries most, o f t e n are not drawn to produce 3. the most e f f e c t i v e p a t t e r n f o r the d e l i v e r y and a d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f s e r v i c e s . The problem i s exacerbated by the numbers of 'quasi' governmental o r g a n i z a t i o n s which emerge i n the f r i n g e areas which have l i m i t e d a u t h o r i t y and r e s p o n s i b i l i t y . In a d d i t i o n a s t r o n g l o c a l sentiment i s c r e a t e d , which tends to become p a r o c h i a l i n n a t u r e . These quasi-governmental bodies o f t e n are r e l u c t a n t to assume c o - o p e r a t i v e or u n i t e d r e l a t i o n s h i p s w i t h contiguous areas f o r f e a r t h a t t h e i r l o c a l i d e n t i t y may be c h a l l e n g e d . Meanwhile the core c i t y has experienced a decrease i n per c a p i t a income due to suburban m i g r a t i o n and i s up i n arms over what i t f e e l s i s i n e q u i t a b l e f i n a n c i a l burdens being borne by i t ^ f o r . . the d e l i v e r y of s e r v i c e s enjoyed by p e r i p h e r a l r e s i d e n t s . C o n s o l i d a t i o n of l o c a l governments has thus been advocated as a means of r e c t i f y i n g some of these c o n d i t i o n s . Volumes of economic, s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l s c i e n c e l i t e r a t u r e 5 have been w r i t t e n on l o c a l government c o n s o l i d a t i o n . In c o n t r a d i s t i n c t i o n t o academics and p o l i t i c i a n s and i n t e r e s t e d l a y people who advocate c o n s o l i d a t i o n , t h e r e are some who m a i n t a i n t h a t fragmentation i s not n e c e s s a r i l y bad. Cook , f o r example, argues t h a t as c e n t r a l i z a t i o n o f s e r v i c e s becomes more p r e v a l e n t , t h e r e may be a lowered 7 a b i l i t y to accomodate d i v e r s i t y . Warren c o n s t r u c t e d a m u n i c i p a l s e r v i c e s model based on the market system model and suggested t h a t the market system works most e f f i c i e n t l y under co m p e t i t i o n and not monopoly. Ther e f o r e many gov-Q ernments and not one would be more e f f i c i e n t . T i e b o u t developed a theory based on the 'menu' of o p p o r t u n i t i e s and a l t e r n a t i v e s under fragmented p o l i t i c a l u n i t s . Ostrom ( e t . a l . ) t h e o r i z e d t h a t the 1 p o l e c e n t r i c 1 system of government can be maintained through c o - o p e r a t i v e arrangements. They s t a t e t h a t no g r e a t d i f f i c u l t i e s are 9 encountered; " . . . i f the a p p r o p r i a t e set of p u b l i c i n t e r e s t s are adequately r e p r e s e t n e d among the n e g o t i a t o r s . A c o n t r a c t u r a l arrangement w i l l s u f f i c e . " Thus i t can be seen t h a t t h e r e i s not unamious agreement on the a p p r o p r i a t e method f o r r e s o l v i n g the o r g a n i z a t i o n a l problems of l o c a l government. The r e s e a r c h f o r t h i s d i s s e r t a t i o n , however, has been concerned w i t h a n a l y z i n g the i m p l i c a t i o n s of l o c a l government c o n s o l i d a t i o n . One of the d i f f i c u l t i e s w i t h r e s e a r c h conducted i n the area of l o c a l government reform i s t h a t n e a r l y a l l the l i t e r a t u r e has d i s c u s s e d problems and p r o s p e c t s f o r reform f o r m e t r o p o l i t a n r e g i o n s . The most commonly accepted d e f i n i t i o n of a m e t r o p o l i t a n area has been s e t out by the U.S. Bureau of Census which d e s c r i b e s a Standard M e t r o p o l i t a n S t a t i s t i c a l Area (S.M.S.A.) a s : 1 0 "one or more c e n t r a l c i t i e s of a t l e a s t 50,000 i n h a b i t a n t s and an amorphous group • 5; of suburbs beyond the c e n t r a l c i t y l i m i t s which i n c l u d e s c i t i e s towns and r u r a l and s e m i - r u r a l areas w i t h i n the same of adjacent county. Canada's unique demographic d i s p e r s i o n however makes c i t i e s 11 w i t h p o p u l a t i o n s of g r e a t e r than 25,000 l a r g e . T h i s alone does not mean t h a t the problems and p r o p o s a l s f o r reform are of l i t t l e consequence; the problems are the same, the p a t t e r n of p o l i t i c a l boundaries j u s t as f r a c t u r e d and o v e r - l a p p i n g , but the approach and emphasis of reform may d i f f e r . 12 \ P l u n k e t t has suggested f i v e approaches f o r the r e o r g a n i z a t i o n of l o c a l government. They are: 1. Intergovernmental arrangements - c o - o p e r a t i v e arrange-ments wit h r e s p e c t to c e r t a i n p u b l i c s e r v i c e s between l o c a l government u n i t s . 2. S p e c i a l Purpose A u t h o r i t i e s - separate, independent u n i t s e s t a b l i s h e d to p r o v i d e a s p e c i f i c s e r v i c e t o a number of l o c a l governments. 3. C i t y - c o u n t y s e p a r a t i o n and c o n s o l i d a t i o n - a county ( r e g i o n a l d i s t r i c t ) embraces a m e t r o p o l i t a n area and i s g i v e n power and r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r area wide urban s e r v i c e s . 4. M e t r o p o l i t a n f e d e r a t i o n - c o n s i s t i n g of an area wide government to perform those f u n c t i o n s which s p i l l over m u n i c i p a l boundaries and of component m u n i c i p a l i t i e s which would perform p u r e l y l o c a l f u n c t i o n s ( i . e . t w o - t i e r e d 6. government) . 5. Amalgamation or annexation - t h i s i n v o l v e s the a b s o r p t i o n 13 by the core c i t y of t e r r i t o r i e s contiguous to i t . Grant and others are quick to p o i n t out t h a t suburban o p p o s i t i o n to c o n s o l i d a t i o n with the core c i t y n e a r l y always a r i s e s and suggests t h a t amalgamation/annexation i s : " s t i l l p o s s i b l e i n s m a l l e r urban areas but no longer f e a s i b l e i n l a r g e urban areas where there are w e l l entrenched and s t a b l e l o c a l governments on the p e r i p h e r y o f the c e n t r a l c i t y . " B. OBJECTIVES OF THESIS T h i s d i s s e r t a t i o n proposes t o assess the impact t h a t government r e o r g a n i z a t i o n (through amalgamation) has had on a community i n B r i t i s h Columbia encompassing a p o p u l a t i o n o f some 35,000 people. The impetus f o r the a n a l y s i s r e s u l t e d from three o b s e r v a t i o n s . F i r s t l y , as a l l u d e d to e a r l i e r , a p e r u s a l of the l i t e r a t u r e found l i t t l e i n the way of a n a l y s i s f o r non-metropolitan areas. Secondly, i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t has been assembled i s non-Canadian and only l i m i t e d examination of t h i s phenomenom has taken p l a c e w i t h i n the p r o v i n c e of B r i t i s h Columbia. L a s t l y , amal-gamation proceedings i n B r i t i s h Columbia have r e c e i v e d a good d e a l o f p u b l i c i t y w i t h i n the l a s t two y e a r s , w i t h the f o r c e d amalgamation of two i n t e r i o r communities, Kamloops and Kelowna. The only p u b l i s h e d i n f o r m a t i o n s u g g e s t i o n gov-ernment p o l i c y towards amalgamation was w r i t t e n i n 1967. 14 At t h a t time i t was s t a t e d : "there are a number of cases where a good argument can be made f o r the amalgamation of adjacent m u n i c i p a l i t i e s because as they are now c o n s t i t u t e d they e s s e n t i a l l y d i v i d e up i n t o separate j u r i s d i c t i o n s what has become one community. In t h i s case, we are d e a l i n g w i t h community problems r a t h e r than r e g i o n a l problems and i f you can v i s u a l i z e the s i t u a t i o n where, f o r example, the proper placement of l a t e r a l sewers would r e q u i r e one to d i s r e g a r d m u n i c i p a l boundaries. The attempt t o keep d i s t r i b u t i o n and c o l l e c t i o n systems separated by m u n i c i p a l boundaries o f t e n leads t o an .. a r t i f i c i a l d e s ign and added c o s t s go along w i t h t h i s s o r t of approach. I t f o l l o w s from t h i s t h a t there are savings t o be achieved both i n overhead and i n the design of many s e r v i c e s which are l i n k e d together i n a g e o g r a p h i c a l manner, but are separated j u r i s d i c t i o n a l l y . " Correspondence with the A s s o c i a t e Deputy M i n i s t e r 15 of M u n i c i p a l A f f a i r s , produced the f o l l o w i n g r e p l y when asked about c u r r e n t p r o v i n c i a l government p o l i c y on amalgamation. He s t a t e d : "Apart from Kamloops and Kelowna, which were s p e c i a l cases...the p o l i c y of the government has been on the whole t o r e l y on the i n i t i a t i v e of the l o c a l community f o r change i n m u n i c i p a l s t r u c t u r e . . . W i t h regard t o Kamloops and Kelowna ...the government f e l t t h a t the pace of develop-ment had reached a c r i t i c a l s t a t e . In a d d i t i o n i t was f e l t t h a t l o c a l government o r g a n i z a t i o n was inadequate and too fragmented to d e a l e f f e c t i v e l y with r a p i d growth. Hence the d i r e c t i v e f o r amalgamation or more p r o p e r l y l o c a l government r e s t r u c t u r e . " :8.-Since 19 52 th e r e have been 15 amalgamations i n 16 B r i t i s h Columbia, 13 s i n c e 1966. T h i s would i n d i c a t e t h a t there i s a d e f i n i t e r e a l i z a t i o n t h a t i t i s necessary to r e c a s t m u n i c i p a l boundaries t o meet the ever changing and c h a l l e n g i n g requirements and o b l i g a t i o n s of l o c a l governments. On November 2nd, 1974 the i n h a b i t a n t s of the C i t y of Nanaimo along with s i x unorganized . t e r r i t o r i e s (or p a r t s thereof) voted a f f i r m a t i v e l y t o c o n s o l i d a t e t h e i r boundaries and form one new c i t y w i t h a p o p u l a t i o n of approximately 35,000 people. While only months have passed s i n c e the date of i n c o r p o r a t i o n , January 1st, 1975 (a f a c t which has proven to be a l i m i t a t i o n on the research) there are many r e l e v e n t t h i n g s which can be i n v e s t i g a t e d and d i s c u s s e d with the process experienced to d a t e . Any review of dynamic behaviour i s f r o u g h t with a n a l y t i c a l d i f f i c u l t i e s . The process of l o c a l government change i s p a r t i c u l a r l y p e r p l e x i n g because of the c o m p l e x i t i e s of government s t r u c t u r e and the time l a g f o r the a f f e c t s , of change t o m a t e r i a l i z e . Many e f f e c t s of change may not be p e r c e i v e d or have any impact u n t i l long a f t e r the change has been implemented. Because of t h i s char-a c t e r i s t i c the approach taken i n t h i s r e s e a r c h w i l l be d i s c e r n a b l y d e s c r i p t i v e . There i s no u n d e r l y i n g h y p o t h e s i s . The r e s e a r c h w i l l r e t r a c e many of the causes l e a d i n g up 9. to amalgamation and the problems and process experienced i n Nanaimo t h a t were a prelude t o amalgamation. The recommendations put f o r t h i n the l a s t chapter w i l l r e v o l v e from the w r i t e r ' s i n v e s t i g a t i o n s and c o l l e c t i o n of data. The judgment of the newly e l e c t e d c o u n c i l members of the new C i t y have a l s o been s o l i c i t e d . T h e i r responses add a f u r t h e r dimension t o the a n a l y s i s . Before l o o k i n g i n t o the case study of Nanaimo i t i s important t h a t the reader be f a m i l i a r w i t h the b a s i c purpose, f u n c t i o n and o r g a n i z a t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e of l o c a l government, and to understand some of. the s o c i a l , p o l i t i c a l and economic r e a l i t i e s t h a t i n f l u e n c e p u b l i c a t t i t u d e s towards amalgamation p r o p o s a l s . Chapter 2 w i l l d i s c u s s these important i s s u e s . C. DIGRESSION At t h i s p o i n t i t i s important to acknowledge any b i a s which may appear throughout the remainder of the a n a l y s i s . The d i s s e r t a t i o n analyzes the causes and e f f e c t s o f the amalgamation of a community i n B r i t i s h Columbia. Amalgamation i s not n e c e s s a r i l y the a b s o l u t e s o l u t i o n t o a v e r y complex problem. An i n d i v i d u a l ' s a t t i t u d e toward p o l i t i c a l c o n s o l i d a t i o n i s o f t e n determined by t h a t person's p r e j u d i c i e , or pr e c o n c e i v e d and sometimes i l l -c o n ceived n o t i o n s w i t h r e s p e c t t o the need or d e s i r a b i l i t y toward change, growth and c e n t r a l i z a t i o n . The author's p e r s o n a l p e r s p e c t i v e of what i s needed and/or d e s i r a b l e i s viewed o b v i o u s l y w i t h an emphasis on p l a n n i n g p r i n c i p l e s . One of the primary f u n c t i o n s of a p l a n n e r i s to minimize c o s t s of s u p p l y i n g both p u b l i c and p r i v a t e f a c i l i t i e s i n c l u d i n g the attendant c o s t s of commuting to these f a c i l i t i e s . He i s concerned wi t h p r o v i d i n g an e f f i c i e n t arrangement o f a c t i v i t i e s w i t h i n a community ..and as such w i l l endeavor to improve the f u n c t i o n a l r e l a t i o n s h i p of a c t i v i t i e s t o optimize e f f i c i e n c y . In t h i s l i g h t , the author's b i a s may i n -a d v e r t a n t l y appear when c o n s i d e r i n g the a d v i s e a b i l i t y and d e s i r e a b i l i t y of a r e s t r u c t u r e p r o p o s a l . 11. 1. B i s h , R.L., and Ostrom, V. Understanding Urban Government. Washington, D.C.: American E n t e r p r i s e I n s t i t u t e f o r P u b l i c P o l i c y Research, 19 73. 2. L i t h w i c k estimates t h a t by the year 2,007, 95% of the people of Canada w i l l be l i v i n g i n urban areas. See Research Manograph #5, The Urban F u t u r e . Ottawa: C.M.H.C., 1970. 3. f o r a l o c a l example see: Brown, P. and McLean, J . The $ Burden of Growth. An i n t e r i m Report on the Impact of 19 73 M u n i c i p a l T a x a t i o n . Greater Vancouver Regional D i s t r i c t , 1974. 4. P l u n k e t t , T.J. Urban Canada and i t s Government: A Study of M u n i c i p a l O r g a n i z a t i o n . Toronto: MacMillan, 196 8, p.78. 5. In Canadian L i t e r a t u r e see Kaplan, H. The Re g i o n a l C i t y . C.B.C. U n i v e r s i t y o f the A i r . 1965; and Feldman, L.D. G o l d r i c k , M.D. (ed s . ) . P o l i t i c s and Government o f Urban Canada. Toronto: Methuen, 19 69; Examples of American L i t e r a t u r e , see Wingo, L. (ed.) Reform of M e t r o p o l i t a n Government. B a l t i m o r e : John Hopkins P r e s s , 1972; Hawley, A.H., and Zimmer, B.G. The M e t r o p o l i t a n Community. B e v e r l y H i l l s : Sage P u b l i c a t i o n s , 1970; Wood, R.C., 1400 Government. Cambridge: Harvard U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1961; Greene, L.S. ( e t . a l . ) The St a t e and the M e t r o p o l i s . Alabama: U n i v e r s i t y o f Alabama P r e s s , 1968; and Committee f o r Economic Development, Reshaping Government i n Met-r o p o l i t a n Areas. N.Y.: Fevruary, 1970. 6. Cook, G a i l , C A . " P u b l i c S e r v i c e P r o v i s i o n i n M e t r o p o l i t a n Areas," i n Feldman, L.D., and G o l d r i c k , M.D., Op. C i t . , pp. 79-93. 7. Warren, R. "A M u n i c i p a l S e r v i c e s Model of M e t r o p o l i t a n O r g a n i z a t i o n , " A.I.P. V o l . 30(1964), pp. 193-204. 8. Tieb o u t , CM. "A Pure Theory o f L o c a l E x p e n d i t u r e s , " J o u r n a l of P o l i t i c s and Economics. V o l . 64(1956) pp. 419-426. 9. Ostrom, V., Ti e b o u t , CM. and Warren, R. "The O r g a n i z a t i o n o f Government i n M e t r o p o l i t a n Areas": A t h e o r e t i c a l E nquiry," A.P.S.R. v o l . 55(1961), pp. 831-842. 12. 10. A d v i s o r y Commission on Intergovernmental R e l a t i o n s , M e t r o p o l i t a n S o c i a l and Economic D i s p a r i t i e s : Im-p l i c a t i o n s f o r Intergovernmental R e l a t i o n s i n C e n t r a l C i t i e s and Suburbs. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government P u b l i c a t i o n s , 1955. 11. Pearson, N. The Future of the M i d d l e - S i z e d C i t y : S a t e l l i t e , Ghost Town, or Human Community? U n i v e r s i t y of Quelph, O n t a r i o : Centre f o r Resources Development, Pub. #31, November, 19 70. 12. P l u n k e t t , T.J.,- Op. C i t . , pp. 82-83. 13. Grant, D.R. "Urban Needs and S t a t e Response: L o c a l Government R e o r g a n i z a t i o n , " i n Campbell, A.K. (ed.). The S t a t e and the Urban C r i s i s . New J e r s e y : P r e n t i c e - H a l l , 19 70. 14. The Hon. Don Cambell. The Changing Face of L o c a l Government. Department of M u n i c i p a l A f f a i r s , 196 7. 15. W r i t t e n Correspondence w i t h , Mr. C.H.L. Woodward, A s s o c i a t e Deputy M i n i s t e r , M u n i c i p a l A f f a i r s , February, -2 8, 19 75. 16. M u n i c i p a l A f f a i r s Department. Annual Report. 1952-1974. v CHAPTER 2 A. INTRODUCTION Chapter one has set f o r t h some of the problems a f f e c t i n g the s tructure of l o c a l government and has indica ted the bas ic format of the remainder of t h i s t h e s i s . This chapter w i l l provide a more i n depth look at the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of l o c a l government which have formed the basis for r e - o r g a n i z a t i o n . S p e c i f i c reference w i l l be made to the s i t u a t i o n i n B r i t i s h Columbia. The chapter can be d i v i d e d in to three d i s t i n c t p a r t s . The f i r s t part w i l l be an analysis of the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y and funct ion of l o c a l government. P a r t i c u l a r emphasis w i l l be placed on i d e n t i f y i n g the 'output ' or services performed by theou The second sect ion w i l l a l lude to the numbers and type of l o c a l government organizat ion provided by the laws of B r i t i s h Columbia. This sect ion w i l l also include the procedures required by law by reconstruct l o c a l government boundaries. The f i n a l sect ion w i l l review the p o s i t i o n s both f o r and against amalgamation which have been suggested i n the l i t e r a t u r e . I t should be pointed out that there i s a paucity of Canadian l i t e r a t u r e on amalgamation or annexation, there-fore many of the references are American i n o r i g i n . 13. 141 .B:" THE FUNCTION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT Musgrave"*" suggested that government has three p r i n c i p a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s : ; 1. economic s t a b i l i z a t i o n ( s t a b i l i z a t i o n ) 2. income t ransfer ( redis t r ibut ion) 3. service or want s a t i s f y i n g (al locat ion) Governments may intervene and/or assume the major r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r monopolizing or r e g u l a t i n g the production of goods that have a p a r t i c u l a r l y s i g n i f i c a n t impact on the economy ( s t a b i l i z a t i o n f u n c t i o n ) . For example, scarce or s i n g l y owned resources for which there are few subst i tutes may require government sc rut iny to assure e f f e c t i v e production and management. Governments a lso provide goods and services to equalize opportunity , so that the p u b l i c w i l l be., c o l l e c t i v e l y better o f f . Some goods Musgrave c a l l s 'merit goods ' , that i s - goods and services deemed to be e s s e n t i a l for basic l i v i n g and should be u n i v e r s a l l y a v a i l a b l e . Without government i n t e r v e n t i o n , an element of the p u b l i c would be deprived of enjoying these goods i f required to b i d for them i n the market p l a c e , (re-d i s t r i b u t i o n ) . By t h e i r very nature, r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r car ry ing out s t a b i l i z a t i o n and r e d i s t r i b u t i o n functions must be assumed on a large s c a l e , over an ent i re s o c i a l u n i t . In Canada 15-therefore the federal and p r o v i n c i a l governments are the most appropriate government bodies to cater to these r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s . The t h i r d r e s p o n s i b i l i t y - service or want s a t i s f y i n g i s the fundamental pursuit of l o c a l government for i t i s at t h i s l e v e l of administration that the most intimate r e l a t i o n s h i p between the services demanded ( i . e . by the public) and the services rendered ( i . e . government administration) can be r e a l i z e d . This, of course i s not to say that other levels of government do not also 'administer public services, however t h e i r main focus i s directed towards more universal ends, (for example, income r e d i s t r i b u t i o n ) . The chief function of l o c a l government on the other hand i s to supply both tangible and intangible goods and services to s a t i s f y c i t i z e n demand for services, which for a variety 2 of reasons are not supplied or are inadequately supplied i n the market place. •i-Local governments have other r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s i n addition to rendering services. They have varying degrees of power to decide what services s h a l l be provided, how they w i l l be financed, and powers to regulate and control many areas of s o c i a l and economic l i f e i n the int e r e s t s 3 of the health, welfare and safety of the public they serve. 4 The Ontario Committee on Taxation has underpinned 16. t h e i r d i s c u s s i o n by s t a t i n g t h a t a fundamental r e q u i s i t e of l o c a l government i n a d d i t i o n t o s e r v i c e a c t i v i t i e s , i s access.. Access i n terms of the c a p a c i t y of c i t i z e n s t o i n f l u e n c e (or a t l e a s t the o p p o r t u n i t y to i n f l u e n c e ) p u b l i c p o l i c y d e c i s i o n s and to p a r t i c i p a t e i n the a f f a i r s of the community. (a) V o t i n g 'Access' and R e s t r u c t u r i n g L o c a l Government In the Canadian s o c i e t y i t i s almost u n i v e r s a l l y f e l t t h a t the p u b l i c should and must be g i v e n the r i g h t t o express by one means or another the manner i n which i t w i l l be governed and the nature of the s e r v i c e s t o be rendered to i t by governments and the degree and k i n d of r e g u l a t i o n s t h a t should e x i s t w i t h i n the t e r r i t o r i a l j u r i s d i c t i o n of each u n i t of government. P u b l i c p a r t i c i p a t i o n i s encouraged by r e g u l a r e l e c t i o n of governing o f f i c i a l s , referendums, p u b l i c h e a r i n g s , p e t i t i o n s , open meetings of governing b o d i e s . The means of d e c i d i n g p u b l i c i s s u e s by referendum have 5 long i n t r i g u e d p o l i t i c a l a n a l y s t s and p u n d i t s . In a r e c e n t Canadian i n v e s t i g a t i o n Sproule-Jones and Hart suggest t h a t g i v e n the c o s t s of p a r t i c i p a t i o n ( i n d i v i d u a l p e r s o n a l s a c r i f i c e ) c i t i z e n s w i l l l i k e l y not be motivated to i n d i c a t e t h e i r p r e f e r e n c e s u n l e s s they f e e l t h a t p e r s o n a l 7 b e n e f i t s of such a c t i v i t y w i l l exceed c o s t s . G i l s d o r f , i n another r e c e n t Canadian study found support f o r h i s hypothesis t h a t the l e s s knowledgable and l e s s p o l i t i c a l l y aware are more su s c e p t a b l e to o u t s i d e p e r s u a s i o n and i n f l u e n c e by the p o l i t i c a l l y more a s t u t e , by the r e a c t i o n of p u b l i c agencies and by propaganda. Smallwood, i n f e r s t h a t r e s t r u c t u r i n g p o l i t i c a l boundaries are doomed t o f a i l u r e because people are motivated to p a r t i c i p a t e (vote) only when the outcome w i l l have a n e g a t i v e e f f e c t on them. g Smallwood s t a t e s : "The supporters of r e - o r g a n i z a t i o n are g e n e r a l l y f i g h t i n g f o r m a r g i n a l gains ( i . e . i n c r e m e n t a l i n c r e a s e s i n power and f u n c t i o n ) w h i l e the opponents are u s u a l l y f i g h t i n g a g a i n s t a b s o l u t e l o s s e s ( i . e . t h e i r very e x i s t a n c e s as v i a b l e e n t i t i e s ) . (p. 243) . 9 Bxsh and Ostrom suggest two reasons f o r n e g a t i v e v o t e r response. F i r s t , v o t e r s may a c t i r r a t i o n a l l y i n the sense of v o t i n g a g a i n s t something t h a t i s i n t h e i r best i n t e r e s t , or second, they may r e j e c t c o n s o l i d a t i o n p r o p o s a l s because v o t e r s are s u s p i c i o u s t h a t c o n s o l i d a t i o n w i l l not r e s u l t i n s e r v i c e s a t equal or l e s s c o s t s . Mario and Whitty"*"^ i n d i c a t e t h a t support f o r c o n s o l i d a t i o n corresponds t o the number of e l e c t e d m u n i c i p a l o f f i c i a l s . Hawkins"^ found t h a t l i f e s t y l e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s tend t o be a s s o c i a t e d w i t h support 12 f o r annexation. Contrary to Hawkm's f i n d i n g s , Dye found t h a t l i f e s t y l e i n d i c a t o r s (based on the S h e v k y - B e l l 19 55 IS. s c a l e o f f a m i l i s m ) were a s s o c i a t e d w i t h o p p o s i t i o n t o 13 14 a n n e x a t i o n . Hawley and Zimmer, ' s u p p o r t G i l s d o r f ' s b a s i c t e n e t and s u g g e s t t h a t t h e l a c k o f k n o w l e d g e o f l o c a l g overnment and v o t e r i g n o r a n c e a r e d o m i n a n t f a c t o r s i n n e g a t i v e a m a l g a m a t i o n r e f e r e n d u m s . H a w k i n s a n d K u n k e l " ^ b o t h f o u n d t h a t t h e more d i s s a t i s f i e d t h e e l e c t o r a t e i s w i t h t h e c u r r e n t d e l i v e r y o f l o c a l s e r v i c e s t h e g r e a t e r i s t h e w i l l i n g n e s s t o s u p p o r t a n n e x a t i o n p r o p o s a l s . T h e s e s t u d i e s i n d i c a t e t h a t v o t e r r e s p o n s e t o p o l i t i c a l r e s t r u c t u r e r e f e r e n d u m s i s d i f f i c u l t t o p r e d i c t a s t h e r e a r e many f a c t o r s w h i c h i n f l u e n c e p u b l i c s e n t i m e n t . I n B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a f o r example, p u b l i c a c c e p t a n c e o f p o l i t i c a l a m a l g a m a t i o n has n o t b e e n o v e r w h e l m i n g . Between 1968 and 1973, s e v e n c o m m u n i t i e s v o t e d i n f a v o u r o f a m a l g a m a t i o n , two were f o r c e d t o amalgamate and s i x v o t e d a g a x n s t i t . (b) T y pe o f S e r v i c e s S u p p l i e d by L o c a l Government I t h a s b e en i n d i c a t e d a t t h e o u t s e t t h a t t h e d o m i n a n t f u n c t i o n o f l o c a l g o v e rnment i s t h e d e l i v e r y o f s e r v i c e s . T h e r e a r e a v a r i e t y o f ways i n w h i c h t h o s e s e r v i c e s may be c l a s s i f i e d . T a b l e I shows a c l a s s i f i c a t i o n a c c o r d i n g t o f u n c t i o n . S e r v i c e s a r e b r o k e n i n t o 5 m a j o r c l a s s e s . F i r s t t h e r e a r e t h e p r o t e c t i v e s e r v i c e s w h i c h i n c l u d e t h e l e g a l s y s t e m a n d f i r e p r o t e c t i o n . A s e c o n d g r o u p i s r e l a t e d t o human r e s o u r c e s . S u ch s e r v i c e s i n c l u d e TABiEE I MAJOR URBAN SERVICES 19. 1. P r o t e c t i o n : c r i m i n a l j u s t i c e ( p o l i c e , f i r e , m a g i s t r a t e s e t c . ) - f i r e 2. Human Resources Development e d u c a t i o n r e c r e a t i o n c u l t u r a l a c t i v i t i e s - h e a l t h - w e l f a r e p l a n n i n g 3. S a n i t a t i o n S e r v i c e s sewage d i s p o s a l ( d r a i n a g e ) r e f u s e d i s p o s a l - water supply 4. S t r e e t S e r v i c e s c o n s t r u c t i o n maintenance l i g h t i n g c l e a n i n g 5. General Government S e r v i c e s / S u n d r y . *not a l l s e r v i c e s i d e n t i f i e d are n e c e s s a r i l y the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of l o c a l government. Many o f the human r e s o u r c e s s e r v i c e s f o r example, are p a i d f o r and a d m i n i s t e r e d i n whole or i n p a r t by more s e n i o r governments. 20. e d u c a t i o n , r e c r e a t i o n , p l a n n i n g , h e a l t h and w e l f a r e s e r v i c e s . S a n i t a t i o n s e r v i c e s i s a t h i r d c l a s s of l o c a l p u b l i c s e r v i c e s . Sewage and drainage d i s p o s a l , s o l i d waste d i s -p o s a l and water-supply f a l l i n t o t h i s category. S a n i t a t i o n s e r v i c e s are h e a v i l y 'property o r i e n t e d , ' thus the q u a l i t y of the supply i s h e a v i l y d i c t a t e d by the d e n s i t y of human p o p u l a t i o n . S a n i t a t i o n s e r v i c e s a l s o c a r r y environmental and a e s t h e t i c b e n e f i t s a c c r u i n g to a wider area than the d i r e c t b e n e f i c i a r i e s of the f a c i l i t y . E x t e r n a l or s p i l l o v e r b e n e f i t s r e p e a t e d l y crop up i n the l i t e r a t u r e as prime r a t i o n a l e f o r amalgamation, so t h a t i n economic p a r l a n c e , the e x t e r n a l c o s t s and b e n e f i t s are i n t e r n a l i z e d . T h i s concept has been extended i n t o c u r r e n t B r i t i s h Columbia ph i l o s o p h y of p aying f o r c e r t a i n s e r v i c e s which possess 18 wider r a n g i n g s p i l l o v e r b e n e f i t s . For example, i n s e v e r a l areas of B r i t i s h Columbia, Regio n a l D i s t r i c t s * c a r r y out the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of a d m i n i s t e r i n g sewer and drainage f a c i l i t i e s . The formula f o r d i s t r i b u t i n g the c o s t of s u p p l y i n g t h i s s e r v i c e i s designed to r e f l e c t the s p i l l o v e r or e x t e r n a l b e n e f i t s . I f , say, a new sewage i n t e r c e p t o r p i p e i s l a i d , p a r t i a l payment of the f a c i l i t y w i l l be made by a l l landowners i n the r e g i o n a l d i s t r i c t - even though some of the landowners w i l l never r e c e i v e d i r e c t b e n e f i t s * See pages 16 - 18 of t h i s chapter f o r a d i s c u s s i o n on R e g i o n a l D i s t r i c t s . 21. ( i . e . w i l l not be hooked i n t o the sewage system).,, The g r e a t e s t p o r t i o n o f the c o s t w i l l be borne by those who a t sometime w i l l be d i r e c t b e n e f i c i a r i e s o f the new system. The p r i n c i p a l f e a t u r e t o understand i s t h a t a l l landowners w i t h i n the r e g i o n a l d i s t r i c t w i l l c o n t r i b u t e t o some degree i n the payment of the s e r v i c e s i n r e c o g n i t i o n o f the e x t e r n a l environmental enhancement a f f o r d e d by p r o v i d i n g t h i s f a c i l i t y . The f o u r t h c l a s s o f s e r v i c e i n Table I i s s t r e e t s e r v i c e s . S t r e e t s e r v i c e s i n c l u d e c o n s t r u c t i o n and maintenance, l i g h t i n g and c l e a n i n g o f s t r e e t s . To some ex t e n t s t r e e t s e r v i c e s have c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s s i m i l a r t o those o f s a n i t a t i o n s e r v i c e s . The f i n a l group of s e r v i c e s covers a wide a r r a y of a d m i n i s t r a t i v e f u n c t i o n s tending t o emanate from c i t y h a l l . One example would be the p r e p a r a t i o n and c o l l e c t i o n o f pr o p e r t y taxes. 19 H i r s c h developed a c l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f p u b l i c s e r v i c e s which i s perhaps most u s e f u l f o r the purposes of t h i s study. Using a quasi-dynamic model t h a t c o n s i d e r e d the impact of m e t r o p o l i t a n growth and c o n s o l i d a t i o n , he i d e n t i f i e d three groups of s e r v i c e s based on the average u n i t c o s t of the s e r v i c e . They are (i) h o r i z o n t a l l y ( i i ) c i r c u l a r l y and ( i i i ) v e r t i c a l l y i n t e g r a t e d s e r v i c e s . H o r i z o n t a l l y i n t e g r a t e d s e r v i c e s e x i s t when there are a number of p l a n t s (.units) or a s i n g l e p l a n t , t h a t produces e s s e n t i a l l y the same s e r v i c e . P o l i c e , f i r e , e d u c a t i o n , h o s p i t a l s , and r e f u s e c o l l e c t i o n comprise the major s e r v i c e s f a l l i n g i n t o t h i s category. C i r c u l a r l y i n t e g r a t e d s e r v i c e s are produced when a governmental u n i t renders s e r v i c e s t h a t are complementary. The a d m i n i s t r a t i v e r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s o f c i t y h a l l b e s t i l l u s t r a t e s t h i s category of s e r v i c e . For example, the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of say, p r o p e r t y taxes, dog l i c e n c e s and water b i l l s can be done e f f i c i e n t l y under one u n i t because they i n v o l v e complementary a d m i n i s t r a t i v e t a s k s . V e r t i c a l l y i n t e g r a t e d s e r v i c e s e x i s t when there are a number of s u c c e s s i v e steps i n the p r o d u c t i o n and d e l i v e r y o f the s e r v i c e . The government c o n t r o l s a number of d i f f e r e n t o p e r a t i o n s i n the p r o d u c t i o n of i n g r e d i e n t s t h a t e n t e r i n t o r e n d e r i n g a s e r v i c e . S e r v i c e s of t h i s nature i n c l u d e , e l e c t r i c i t y . g e n e r a t i o n , water p r o d u c t i o n and d i s t r i b u t i o n and sewage treatment. By r e g r e s s i n g s e r v i c e output w i t h the c o s t of p r o d u c t i o n , c o s t f u n c t i o n s were d e r i v e d t o determine i f economies of s c a l e c o u l d be achieved through government c o n s o l i d a t i o n . H i r s c h argues t h a t h o r i z o n t a l l y i n t e g r a t e d s e r v i c e s have h i g h l y adaptab l e f i x e d p l a n t s and/or d i v i s i b l e o p e r a t i n g equipment and t h e r e f o r e growth and 23. c o n s o l i d a t i o n w i l l have l i t t l e , i f any, e f f e c t on the per c a p i t a expenditures f o r such s e r v i c e s . C i r c u l a r l y i n t e g r a t e d s e r v i c e s produce a d e c r e a s i n g c o s t f u n c t i o n w i t h growth, due t o f u l l e r more e f f i c i e n t use of o f f i c i a l s , c l e r i c a l s t a f f and p r o f e s s i o n a l p e r s o n n e l . Beyond a ' c r i t i c a l p o i n t ' however, h i g h e r wages and a d m i n i s t r a t i v e top heaviness l e a d s t o diseconomies of s c a l e . Growth and c o n s o l i d a t i o n i n v e r t i c a l l y i n t e g r a t e d s e r v i c e s r e s u l t s i n a decrease i n the per c a p i t a expenditures u n t i l a very l a r g e s i z e , (so l a r g e t h a t few c i t i e s have reached i t ) . 20 21 H i r s c h and o t h e r s suggest i n a more r e c e n t a r t i c l e , t h a t a t a minimum,pollution c o n t r o l , sewage d i s p o s a l , t r a n s p o r t a t i o n , p u b l i c h e a l t h , r e g i o n a l p l a n n i n g and h o s p i t a l s are bes t p r o v i c e d on a r e g i o n a l b a s i s . T h i s s e c t i o n o f the chapter has i n d i c a t e d t h a t l o c a l government, p o t e n t i a l l y renders a g r e a t number of s e r v i c e s t h a t are most e f f i c i e n t l y d i s c h a r g e d to the g e n e r a l p u b l i c on d i f f e r i n g s c a l e s of m u n i c i p a l government. Needless t o say t o efi^ e e t i w e l y c s u p p l y such s e r v i c e s r e q u i r e s a h i g h l y c o - o r d i n a t e d o r g a n i z a t i o n a l network. The next s e c t i o n shows however, t h a t l o c a l government o r g a n i z a t i o n i s h i g h l y v a r i a b l e and i t s a b i l i t y t o handle s e r v i c e demands corresponds c l o s e l y t o the s o p h i s t i c a t i o n of the p o l i t i c a l o r g a n i z a t i o n . JG. THE ORGANIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE IN BRITISH COLUMBIA A l l o r g a n i z a t i o n s , r e g a r d l e s s of s i z e or power, are s o c i a l u n i t s (or human groupings) d e l i b e r a t e l y c o n s t r u c t e d 22 to seek s p e c i f i c g o a l s . The a b i l i t y t o meet these g o a l s however i s l i m i t e d by the o r g a n i z a t i o n ' s f i n i t e c a p a c i t y to f a c i l i t a t e and manage i t s p u r s u i t s . Katz and Kann t h e o r i z e d t h r e e stages of development i n an o r g a n i z a t i o n t h a t i s e q u a l l y a p p l i c a b l e t o l o c a l government as any other o r g a n i z a t i o n . They s t a t e t h a t the f i r s t or ' p r i m i t i v e ' s t a t e of an o r g a n i z a t i o n emerges i n response to b a s i c needs and e x p e c t a t i o n s of the people. As environmental p r e s s u r e s and human demands .. i n c r e a s e , a more complex and n e c e s s a r i l y a u t h o r i t a t i v e s t r u c t u r e i s developed. The o r g a n i z a t i o n becomes b e t t e r equiped to handle change. I t develops a 'maintenance' system which i s able to r e a c t and adapt t o new or changing environmental c o n d i t i o n s . The f i n a l stage of the o r g a n i z a t i o n i s simply a s t r e n g t h e n i n g or t i g h t e n i n g up of the e x i s t i n g s t r u c t u r e . Extending t h i s process to l o c a l government an analogous s i t u a t i o n a r i s e s . There are d i f f e r i n g degrees of development and complexity i n l o c a l government. The most p r i m i t i v e l o c a l government o r g a n i z a t i o n emerges when a group of people band to g e t h e r to s a t i s f y some common need or p r o v i d e a common s e r v i c e . The most b a s i c examples are f i r e p r o t e c t i o n and water supply s e r v i c e . As environmental p r e s s u r e s and human demands i n c r e a s e more s e r v i c e s must be s u p p l i e d thus n e c e s s i t a t i n g a s u p e r i o r a d m i n i s t r a t i v e and more a u t h o r i t a t i v e government s t r u c t u r e . An u n f o r t u n a t e m a n i f e s t a t i o n however i s t h a t a p r o l i f e r a t i o n of p r i m i t i v e s t y l e o r g a n i z a t i o n s sometimes prevents a more complex one from e v o l v i n g , o r , more o f t e n , i n h i b i t i n g the i n d i v i d u a l p r i m i t i v e u n i t s from c o n s o l i d a t i n g * i n t o a more complex whole. The r a m i f i c a t i o n s of t h i s s i t u a t i o n are obvious. What should be one homogeneous area i s d i v i d e d i n t o separate u n i t s thus i n h i b i t i n g the e f f e c t i v e performance of l o c a l government. In Canada, under the B r i t i s h North America A c t , the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r o r g a n i z i n g people i n t o p o l i t i c a l l y i n c o r p o r a t e d l o c a l government u n i t s r e s t s w i t h the p r o v i n c i a l governments. * T a l c o t Parsons, a famous American s o c i o l o g i s t i s a f o r e f a t h e r of s t r u c t u r a l s o c i e t a l theory t h a t concerns the primacy of the whole over the p a r t s . See, Parsons, T. The S o c i a l System. Glencoe, 111.: The Free P r e s s , 1951, and Parsons, T. and Samelson, N.J. Economy and S o c i e t y . N.J.: The Free P r e s s , 1956. L o c a l government s t r u c t u r e i n B r i t i s h Columbia c o n s i s t s o f : i n c o r p o r a t e d m u n i c i p a l i t i e s ( c i t i e s , towns, v i l l a g e s and d i s t r i c t m u n i c i p a l i t i e s ) and R e g i o n a l D i s t r i c t s , 2 4 a d m i n i s t e r e d under the M u n i c i p a l A c t ; Improvement 2 5 D i s t r i c t s , i n c o r p o r a t e d under the Water A c t ; s c h o o l 2 6 d i s t r i c t s , formed under the P u b l i c Schools A c t ; Development D i s t r i c t s s e t up under the Drainage Dykying 2 7 and Development A c t ; and L o c a l Areas a d m i n i s t e r e d under 2 8 the L o c a l Services A c t . There are a l s o numerous s p e c i a l s i n g l e purpose d i s t r i c t s ( f o r example the Greater Nanaimo Water D i s t r i c t ) c r e a t e d by s p e c i a l A c t s o f the P r o v i n c i a l L e g i s l a t u r e . The r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s and powers c o n f e r r e d by p r o v i n c i a l d e l e g a t i o n t o l o c a l government vary w i t h m u n i c i p a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s r e c e i v i n g the most wide-ranging powers and s i n g l e purpose bodies the most r e s t r i c t e d powers. The above l i s t i n d i c a t e s t h a t t h e r e are a number of avenues open to i n c o r p o r a t e an area i n t o some form of l o c a l government. What the above l i s t does not immediately r e v e a l i s the l a b y r i n t h of p o l i t i c a l boundaries which can emerge. I t i s c o n c e i v a b l e f o r example t h a t a reasonably homogeneous area can have one or more m u n i c i p a l governments, a v a r i e t y o f improvement d i s t r i c t s and one or more s i n g l e purpose d i s t r i c t s , p l u s an a d d i t i o n a l maze of r e g u l a t o r y agencies each having independent j u r i s d i c t i o n s . Such agencies would i n c l u d e , the R.C.M.P. boundaries, h e a l t h u n i t j u r i s d i c t i o n s , Department of Highways boundaries, Department of Lands j u r i s d i c t i o n s and e l e c t o r i a l area boundard.Es, to name a few. I n e v i t a b l y such an o v e r l a p of j u r i s d i c t i o n s produces c o n f u s i o n s and some i n e f f i c i e n c y ( a) Types of M u n i c i p a l i t i e s The f o u r types of m u n i c i p a l governments r e f e r r e d to above a l s o d i f f e r i n t h e i r r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s and powers c o n f e r r e d on them under the M u n i c i p a l A c t . A v i l l a g e i s the s m a l l e s t m u n i c i p a l o r g a n i z a t i o n I t i s a c o r p o r a t e body c l a i m i n g a l l r i g h t s , p r i v i l e g e s , l i a b i l i t i e s and r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s o f any c o r p o r a t e e n t i t y . The p o p u l a t i o n must be l e s s than 2,500 people a t the time of i n c o r p o r a t i o n (sec. 19(1)). The maximum borrowing powe of a v i l l a g e i s 10% of the assessed v a l u e of a l l t a x a b l e land and 20% of the va l u e o f u t i l i t y systems, (sec. 249). The maximum m i l l r a t e t a x a b l e f o r g e n e r a l purposes i s 30 m i l l s (sec. 206 ( 2 ) ) . A v i l l a g e can demand a maximum of $200.00 f o r a busi n e s s l i c e n s e . Under l o c a l improvement programs (sec. 581 (2 ) ) , a v i l l a g e m u n i c i p a l i t y may under-take such works as: e s t a b l i s h i n g , widening, extending, e t c . o f s t r e e t s ; 23. c o n s t r u c t i n g , c u r b i n g and sidewalks; c o n s t r u c t i n g boulevards; - l a n d s c a p i n g boulevards. Every by-law passed by the c o u n c i l of a v i l l a g e m u n i c i p a l i t y must be d e p o s i t e d w i t h the I n s p e c t o r of M u n i c i p a l i t i e s who may r e g i s t e r or r e f u s e t o r e g i s t e r the by-law, without which i t has no f o r c e . Town m u n i c i p a l i t i e s have the same c o r p o r a t e s t a t u s but when i n c o r p o r a t e d must have a p o p u l a t i o n of between 2,500 and 5,000 people. Debt borrowing cannot exceed 20% f o r both the assessed v a l u e of t a x a b l e l a n d and the v a l u e of the u t i l i t y systems. A town has a m i l l r a t e l i m i t a t i o n of 40 m i l l s and can demand up to $300.00 f o r a b u s i n e s s l i c e n s e . Every by-law must be r e g i s t e r e d w i t h the I n s p e c t o r of M u n i c i p a l i t i e s however he i s not a u t h o r i z e d t o r e j e c t the by-law. L o c a l improvement f i n a n c i n g can be used f o r : (sec. 581) e s t a b l i s h i n g , widening, extending, g r a d i n g , e t c . of s t r e e t s ; c o n s t r u c t i n g of b r i d g e s as p a r t of the s t r e e t ; - c o n s t r u c t i n g and extending of sewer and water systems; c o n s t r u c t i o n of sidewalks and c u r b i n g ; c o n s t r u c t i n g boulevards; landscaping boulevards; a c q u i r i n g and l a y i n g out neighbourhood parks; c o n s t r u c t i n g r e t a i n i n g w a l l s , dykes or break-waters; c o n s t r u c t i n g works f o r s u p p l y i n g p u b l i c s t r e e t l i g h t i n g ; c o n s t r u c t i n g any c o n d u i t f o r w i r e s or p i p e s under and along any s t r e e t . A c i t y i s a c o r p o r a t e e n t i t y of g r e a t e r than 5,000 r e s i d e n t s . L o c a l improvement and debt borrowing c a p a c i t i e s are the same as a town m u n i c i p a l i t y . C i t y (and d i s t r i c t ) m u n i c i p a l i t i e s do no send t h e i r by-laws t o the I n s p e c t o r of M u n i c i p a l i t i e s f o r h i s a p p r o v a l . C i t y (and d i s t r i c t ) m u n i c i p a l i t i e s have a g e n e r a l m i l l r a t e l i m i t a t i o n of 50 m i l l s and have a maximum business l i c e n s e f e e o f $500.00, $1,000.00 or $1,500.00 depending upon whether the m u n i c i p a l i t y i s l e s s than 10,000 p o p u l a t i o n , between 10,000 and 50,000 p o p u l a t i o n or g r e a t e r than 50,000 p o p u l a t i o n r e s p e c t i v e l y . S e c t i o n 504 permits o n l y c i t y (and d i s t r i c t ) m u n i c i p a l i t i e s t o use e x p r o p r i a t i o n powers t o c o n s t r u c t o r purchase m u n i c i p a l h a l l s , workshops and other p u b l i c works b u i l d i n g s . D i s t r i c t m u n i c i p a l i t i e s d i f f e r from c i t i e s i n t h a t the area t o be i n c o r p o r a t e d must be over 2,000 acr e s and they must have an average p o p u l a t i o n d e n s i t y of l e s s than 2 persons per acre.. D i s t r i c t m u n i c i p a l i t i e s are g i v e n s p e c i a l drainage p r i v i l e g e s (sec. 53). S p e c i a l powers 3'P. are a l s o c o n f e r r e d on d i s t r i c t m u n i c i p a l i t i e s under l o c a l improvement r e g u l a t i o n s f o r the d e s i g n a t i o n of s p e c i f i e d areas w i t h i n the m u n i c i p a l i t y . The s p e c i f i e d area i s r e q u i r e d to bear the e n t i r e c o s t s of the l o c a l improvements which otherwise would be def r a y e d i n p a r t by the m u n i c i p a l i t y , (sec. 616). (b) R e g i o n a l D i s t r i c t s R e g i o n a l d i s t r i c t s c onceived o n l y a decade ago, have had an important impact on l o c a l government o r g a n i z a t i o n i n B r i t i s h Columbia. R e g i o n a l d i s t r i c t s were i n t r o d u c e d to p r o v i d e a f e d e r a t e d approach t o r e g i o n a l i s s u e s . A c t i v i t i e s and s e r v i c e s which extend beyond the boundary of a m u n i c i p a l i t y or an e l e c t o r i a l area have i n c r e a s i n g l y been assumed by r e g i o n a l d i s t r i c t s . In o t h e r words those s e r v i c e s which meet H i r s c h ' s v e r t i c a l l y i n t e g r a t e d c r i t e r i a . R e g i o n a l d i s t r i c t s are i n c o r p o r a t e d under sec. 76 8 of the M u n i c i p a l A c t . T h e i r s t a t u t o r y o b l i g a t i o n s l i e p r i m a r i l y i n the v e i n of p l a n n i n g . They are r e s p o n s i b l e f o r land use c o n t r o l , b u i l d i n g permits and p l a n n i n g i n non-m u n i c i p a l areas. They a l s o have mandatory d u t i e s i n managing h o s p i t a l s , l i b r a r i e s , c e r t a i n p u b l i c works and f i n a n c i n g . Many r e g i o n a l d i s t r i c t s have taken over a d m i n i s t e r i n g such s e r v i c e s as p u b l i c t r a n s i t , water, sewer, and s o l i d waste d i s p o s a l , r e g i o n a l r e c r e a t i o n and p o l l u t i o n c o n t r o l . The extent t o which the l a t t e r s e r v i c e s are are c a r r i e d out by r e g i o n a l d i s t r i c t s are dependant upon the w i l l i n g n e s s of member m u n i c i p a l i t i e s and e l e c t o r i a l d i s t r i c t s ( f o r non-municipal areas) t o t r a n s f e r s e r v i c e s t o them. Thus throughout B r i t i s h Columbia's 2 8 r e g i o n a l d i s t r i c t s there are wide d i f f e r e n c e s i n the s e r v i c e s rendered by them which r e f l e c t s the d i f f e r i n g a t t i t u d e s of c o n s t i t u e n t members to a r e g i o n a l approach to l o c a l government. R e g i o n a l d i s t r i c t s are more and more t a k i n g over the r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s and d u t i e s o f s u p e r v i s i n g l o c a l government i n non-municipal areas. Greater borrowing c a p a c i t i e s , wider l o c a l improvement and e x p r o p r i a t i o n powers coupled w i t h land-use and b u i l d i n g r e g u l a t i o n p l a c e s r e g i o n a l d i s t r i c t s i n a more f a v o u r a b l e managerial p o s i t i o n r e l a t i v e t o ot h e r non-municipal l o c a l government. Under sec. 793 of the M u n i c i p a l A c t the p r o v i n c i a l government can a b o l i s h any improvement d i s t r i c t or l o c a l area and t r a n s f e r a l l o b j e c t s t o the r e g i o n a l d i s t r i c t . The r e g i o n a l d i s t r i c t can desi g n a t e a ' s p e c i f i e d area' comprised of former improvement d i s t r i c t s , l o c a l areas or an area t h a t p r e v i o u s l y h e l d no c o r p o r a t e s t a t u s and supply s e r v i c e s t o i t under t h i s s e c t i o n o f the A c t . New l o c a l s e r v i c e needs i n non-municipal areas (with e x c e p t i o n of water, i r r i g a t i o n and dykes) are almost a l l p r o v i d e d and f i n a n c e d through 29 r e g i o n a l d i s t r i c t s . The pre-eminence of r e g i o n a l d i s t r i c t s i n non-municipal areas was i n t i m a t e d i n the 19 74 M u n i c i p a l 32. Department Report. I t s t a t e d : " i n the course of time the r e g i o n a l d i s t r i c t s should g r a d u a l l y take over the s i n g l e purpose d i s t r i c t and the improvement d i s t r i c t . " T r a n s f e r r i n g improvement d i s t r i c t s t o the r e g i o n a l d i s t r i c t has had an added p o s i t i v e e f f e c t i n t h a t p r o v i n c i a l a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of l o c a l government can then be c o - o r d i n a t e d under one p r o v i n c i a l department. Improvement d i s t r i c t s have h i s t o r i c a l l y been a d m i n i s t e r e d under the Water Resources Department while most o t h e r l o c a l government a c t i v i t i e s have been attended t o by the Department of M u n i c i p a l A f f a i r s . Thus two p r o v i n c i a l departments have been performing e s s e n t i a l l y the same f u n c t i o n . The r e c e n t t r e n d t o s h i f t a l l p r o v i n c i a l a d m i n i s t r a t i o n under one p r o v i n c i a l department was v e r i f i e d i n the 1973 M u n i c i p a l Report. I t showed t h a t i n 1973, r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r 27 improvement d i s t r i c t s had 31 been assumed by the M u n i c i p a l A f f a i r s Department. (c) Non-Municipal Government O r g a n i z a t i o n Although t h e r e has been a t r e n d towards encouraging r e g i o n a l d i s t r i c t s t o assume many r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s i n non-municipal areas, improvement d i s t r i c t s and oth e r forms of non-municipal loca^l government remain very much a p a r t of the t o t a l l o c a l government p i c t u r e . The Water A c t enables unorganized t e r r i t o r i e s to i n c o r p o r a t e as improvement d i s t r i c t s or water-user communities. The ' o b j e c t s ' or r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s a c c r u i n g to improvement d i s t r i c t s are i n s c r i b e d i n i t s L e t t e r s Patent. Improvement d i s t r i c t s have the a u t h o r i t y t o h o l d , s e l l and a c q u i r e land, sue and be sued, i s s u e bonds and other promissory notes, assess and l e v y taxes on the land and improvements w i t h i n i t s j u r i s d i c t i o n and approve, manage,, maintain, operate and r e g u l a t e any s e r v i c e which has been conveyed t o the improvement d i s t r i c t by the p r o v i n c i a l government. A d m i n i s t r a t i v e d e c i s i o n s are made by an e l e c t e d board of t r u s t e e s . F u n c t i o n s t h a t may be p r o v i d e d by an improvement d i s t r i c t ( i f i s s u e d the L e t t e r s Patent), i n c l u d e f i r e p r o t e c t i o n , s t r e e t l i g h t i n g , water, sewer (at the r e t a i l l e v e l ) parks, drainage and garbage. They can implement zoning by-laws but r a r e l y do so. Improvement d i s t r i c t s have a unique f i n a n c i a l s t a t u s . T r u s t e e s submit a budget f o r the expected expenses t o the p r o v i n c i a l government which grants the t r u s t e e s the requested funds and l e v i e s a m i l l r a t e t o cover the c o s t s on top of the b a s i c p r o v i n c i a l m i l l r a t e f o r non-municipal l a n d . . Under the Water A c t , a l l s u r f a c e and ground water r i g h t s are v e s t e d i n the crown and every water user i s r e q u i r e d t o apply f o r a l i c e n s e t o use i t . The C o m p t r o l l e r of Water Rights may i s s u e any group of s i x or more, a c e r t i f i c a t e of i n c o r p o r a t i o n , i n c o r p o r t i n g them i n t o a 'water-user community'. The c o r p o r a t e body has the a u t h o r i t y to. h o l d and c o n t r a c t , operate, m a i n t a i n , improve, r e p l a c e works and l e v y an assessment to pay f o r the o p e r a t i o n of such works. The Drainage, Dyking and Development A c t p r o v i d e s a f u r t h e r avenue f o r i n c o r p o r a t i n g unorganized t e r r i t o r i e s i n t o some form of government o r g a n i z a t i o n . 'Development Areas' are designated, p e r m i t t i n g landowners w i t h i n the 'area' t o undertake such works as dyking, dams, w e i r s , l o c k s , l o c k gates, f l o o d gates, breakwater dams, d i t c h e s , flumes, aquaducts, pumps, pumping machinery, and the r e c l a i m i n g and improving of l a n d . Commissioners f o r the area are e l e c t e d , a u t h o r i t y i s g i v e n t o e x p r o p r i a t e , borrow funds and levy taxes to the amount of annual expenses. The L o c a l S e r v i c e s A c t permits unorganized areas to supply s p e c i f i e d s e r v i c e s and undertake works i n areas where e i t h e r the improvement d i s t r i c t has not been i s s u e d L e t t e r s P a t e n t t o undertake the work or where th e r e i s no c o r p o r a t e s t a t u s t o begin w i t h . S e r v i c e s which may be s u p p l i e d to an area under the L o c a l S e r v i c e s A c t i n c l u d e f i r e p r o t e c t i o n , ambulance, garbage c o l l e c t i o n and d i s p o s a l , home n u r s i n g care f o r s e n i o r c i t i z e n s , p u b l i c comfort s t a t i o n s and community p l a n s . As mentioned above w i t h the advent of r e g i o n a l d i s t r i c t s the P r o v i n c i a l Government has adopted a p o l i c y of phasing out l o c a l areas. V i r t u a l l y a l l s e r v i c e s formerly a d m i n i s t e r e d under the L o c a l S e r v i c e s A c t have now been t r a n s f e r r e d to the r e g i o n a l d i s t r i c t s . The P u b l i c Schools A c t d i v i d e s the P r o v i n c e i n t o 76 s c h o o l d i s t r i c t s . Each s c h o o l d i s t r i c t e l e c t s a Board of T r u s t e e s who are r e s p o n s i b l e f o r l o c a l c i r r i c u l a , g e n e r a l o p e r a t i o n s and the s c h o o l d i s t r i c t tax l e v y . The Department of Educa t i o n maintains a s u p e r v i s o r y p o s i t i o n over a l l s c h o o l d i s t r i c t programs and i s a l s o r e s p o n s i b l e f o r e d u c a t i o n a l p l a n n i n g and r e s e a r c h . (d) L e g a l I m p l i c a t i o n s of Amalgamation i n B r i t i s h Columbia • Under the M u n i c i p a l A c t, the c o n s o l i d a t i o n o f areas can be e f f e c t e d e i t h e r by the issuance of supplementary L e t t e r s Patent (sec. 21 of the M u n i c i p a l Act) o r by r e v o k i n g any p r i o r m u n i c i p a l s t a t u s and r e - i n c o r p o r a t i n g w i t h a new s e t of L e t t e r s Patent, (sec. 10). As a guide, sec. 21 i s used p r i m a r i l y f o r boundary e x t e n s i o n s . Under sec. 21 a referendum can take p l a c e a t the d i s c r e t i o n o f the M i n i s t e r of M u n i c i p a l A f f a i r s , the c o u n c i l of the r e q u e s t i n g m u n i c i p a l i t y , or a p e t i t i o n s i g n e d by a t l e a s t 10% o f the e l e c t o r s of the m u n i c i p a l i t y . Most o f t e n l i t t l e p u b l i c o u t c r y emerges because most boundary exte n s i o n s are annexing i n t o u n i n c o r p o r a t e d and o f t e n u n i n h a b i t e d areas. Rarely i s a referendum necessary. The use of boundary extensions are becoming more and more pop u l a r . For example, i n 1954, 1964, 1968 and 1974 there were 4, 7, 18 and 22 e x t e n s i o n s i s s u e d r e s p e c t i v e l y by the Department of M u n i c i p a l A f f a i r s . T o t a l r e s t r u c t u r e occurs p r i m a r i l y when two or more e x i s t i n g i n c o r p o r a t e d areas are u n i t e d . Before new L e t t e r s Patent are i s s u e d (under sec. 10(2)), the r e s i d e n t s 32 of a m u n i c i p a l i t y must conduct a p o l l and: "where more than 50 per centum of the votes c a s t by v a l i d b a l l o t are i n favour of the proposed i n c o r p o r a t i o n , the L i e u t e n a n t -G o v e n o r - i n - C o u n c i l upon the recommendation of the M i n i s t e r s h a l l i n c o r p o r a t e the r e s i d e n t s of the area i n t o a m u n i c i p a l i t y and thereupon s h a l l revoke the L e t t e r s Patent and Supplementary L e t t e r s Patent and d i s s o l v e any m u n i c i p a l i t y s i t u a t e d w i t h i n the m u n i c i p a l i t y as i n c o r p o r a t e d . " o o i e-. i>tWfo/i. Sou DIAGRAM 2 V \ • i ' 3 ^ In'flarturv /fay l.;'T»Xffi;r-,u o1 ? • O O » o f " GOVERNMENTAL STRUCTURE £_ 2_ rlaru£u>©<%i. a new boudnry G A B R I 0 L A I S L A N s,?n M U DG t I S L A N D S.27 : ; i r ^ 4 L ; E C T 0 R A L A R E , r ; — • - i F i n a l l y , chapter s i x w i l l e v a l u a t e the f i n d i n g s of e a r l i e r chapters and recommend changes i n procedures and l e g i s l a t i o n and suggest avenues f o r f u r t h e r r e s e a r c h . B. DEVELOPMENT PATTERN OF THE NANAIMO AREA 197 4 w i l l not o n l y go down i n the annals of Nanaimo as the year of amalgamation but a l s o as the f i r s t centenary of the i n c o r p o r a t i o n of the o l d c i t y of Nanaimo. Nanaimo has a r i c h h i s t o r y ; i t s h i s t o r i c a l develop-ment has had an important i n f l u e n c e on the p r e s e n t s e t t l e -ment p a t t e r n s and land-use d i s t r i b u t i o n , thus, i t can be deduced t h a t i t s h i s t o r y has i n p a r t , c r e a t e d the need f o r a r e e v a l u a t i o n of the area's t e r r i t o r i a l s t r u c t u r e . Although the f i r s t Europeans e x p l o r e d Nanaimo i n 1791 i t wasn't u n t i l 1852 t h a t S i r James Douglas, the P r o v i n c e ' s C h i e f Commissioner and f i r s t Premier, decided t o e s t a b l i s h a community to take advantage o f the c o a l d e p o s i t s d i s c o v e r e d s e v e r a l years e a r l i e r . In 1864, a p h y s i c a l p l a n f o r the community was brought out from England. The r e s u l t was t h a t i n s t e a d of the u s u a l American g r i d p a t t e r n of road l a y o u t , a d i s t i n c t i v e and unusual r a d i a l p a t t e r n was developed t h a t fanned from the c i t y core c l o s e t o where the o r i g i n a l c o a l mine was situated.''" By the 1880's ot h e r mining s e t t l e m e n t s had sprung up c l o s e t o Nanaimo. W e l l i n g t o n , Departure Bay, Chase R i v e r , 5fc. Harewood, Cedar, E x t e n s i o n and Ladysmith were a l s o p r o d u c i n g 2 c o a l and nodes of human h a b i t a t i o n f l o u r i s h e d around them. The names of s e v e r a l of these mining s e t t l e m e n t s w i l l appear throughout the remainder o f t h i s t h e s i s as unorganized d i s t r i c t s which have now c o n s o l i d a t e d under the umbrella, of the new r e s t r u c t u r e d c i t y . I t i s s i g n i f i c a n t however t o re c o g n i z e t h e i r h i s t o r i c a l f o u n d a t i o n as independent mining s e t t l e m e n t s . By 19 45 the g r e a t c o a l days had ended. A t i t s peak over 1.2 m i l l i o n tons of c o a l were removed per annum 3 and some 3,400 men were employed i n the Nanaimo mines. The demise of mining d i d not l e a d t o the economic d e c l i n e of the community, i n f a c t , i n the t e n years f o l l o w i n g 1945 a growth r a t e of upwards of 7% per annum was experienced. The area was f o r t u n a t e i n t h a t as c o a l was being phased out the f o r e s t i n d u s t r y was growing and supplanted c o a l as the main generator of income f o r the area. During t h i s time one of the l a r g e s t p u lp m i l l s i n Canada was c o n s t r u c t e d j u s t south of Nanaimo employing some 1,500 workers. I t a c t e d as a c a t a l y s t f o r the expansive growth of the area. A t the same time the c o n s t r u c t i o n o f a hydro e l e c t r i c dam on Campbell R i v e r and the d e c i s i o n t o make Nanaimo the I s l a n d terminus f o r the Canadian P a c i f i c Railway steamship l i n e and the B l a c k b a l l F e r r y L i n e (which i n 1960 was purchased by the B. C. government) made Nanaimo the f o c a l p o i n t f o r t r a n s -p o r t a t i o n s e r v i c e s to and from the mainland. Nanaimo became the d i s t r i b u t i o n and wholesale centr e f o r the c e n t r a l and northern p a r t s of Vancouver I s l a n d . Between 1956 and 19 66 growth i n the r e g i o n s t a b i l i z e d but between 19 66 and 19 71 the annual growth r a t e exceeded 5 3 to 4%. The i n c r e a s e d growth was the r e s u l t of s e v e r a l f a c t o r s , such as: the expansion of the f o r e s t i n d u s t r y , improved p o r t f a c i l i t i e s and an expansion i n the s e r v i c e i n d u s t r i e s . Some of the major t e r t i a r y i n d u s t r i e s i n c l u d e the P a c i f i c B i o l o g i c a l S t a t i o n , the F e d e r a l Government's major western b i o l o g i c a l r e s e a r c h o p e r a t i o n t h a t employs a h i g h l y s k i l l e d s t a f f of 200; a 225 bed r e g i o n a l h o s p i t a l and a new 85 bed extended care u n i t . In 19 73 the h o s p i t a l generated $4.9 m i l l i o n i n p a y r o l l . . A r e g i o n a l c o l l e g e was e s t a b l i s h e d i n 1969, which had a 1973/1974 student e n r o l l m e n t of 1,600. I t expects to occupy the f i r s t stage o f a new campus sometime i n 1975. There has a l s o been a growth i n o f f i c e and commercial a c t i v i t i e s . The development of Harbour Park, Terminal Park, Country Club, Northbrook and Harewood P l a z a shopping c e n t r e s i n r e c e n t years r e f l e c t s the growth of the area., and the i n c r e a s e d l o c a l income t h a t i s r e q u i r e d to support these r e t a i l e s t a b l i s h m e n t s . Harbour Park Shopping Centre, l o c a t e d i n the c e n t r a l core of the C i t y i s c u r r e n t l y b e i n g e n l a r g e d to n e a r l y double i t s c u r r e n t f l o o r area (160,000 square feet) and there have been a number of p r o p o s a l s 6Qj r e c e n t l y to l o c a t e a new l a r g e shopping c e n t r e near the 7 northern boundaries of the new c i t y . T h i s b r i e f summary of the development of the Nanaimo area i n d i c a t e s t h a t i t i s a very v i a b l e area and i t s p r o s p e c t s f o r continued p r o s p e r i t y are good. A r e c e n t economic study p r o j e c t e d t h a t p o p u l a t i o n growth o f m e t r o p o l i t a n Nanaimo would proceed a t s l i g h t l y over 3% 8 per annum f o r the next decade. 1971 p o p u l a t i o n da'ta showed 32,991 r e s i d e n t s i n the area and by 1981 some 43,600 people are expected t o be r e s i d i n g i n the a r e a . C. GROWTH AND SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF GREATER NANAIMO (a) L o c a t i o n Diagram one r e f e r s the reader t o the l o c a t i o n of Nanaimo i n r e l a t i o n t o the r e s t of the p r o v i n c e and t o Vancouver I s l a n d . Diagram two shows the s p a t i a l p r o x i m i t y of the core c i t y w i t h i t s p e r i p h e r a l improvement d i s t r i c t s . The s i z e and 1974 p o p u l a t i o n of the c i t y and d i s t r i c t s which d i d amalgamate are as f o l l o w s : 61. INCORPORATED AREA SIZE POPULATION (acres) (1974) C i t y of Nanaimo 1940 15,600 Harewood Improvement D i s t r i c t 1880 5,759 Departure Bay Improvement D i s t r i c t 2075 5,058 * W e l l i n g t o n Improvement D i s t r i c t 5 825 5,254 N o r t h f i e l d Improvement D i s t r i c t 1404 4,078 Pe t r o g l y p h F i r e P r o t e c t i o n D i s t r i c t 1175 1,300 **Mountain F i r e P r o t e c t i o n D i s t r i c t N/A 600 source: R e g i o n a l D i s t r i c t of Nanaimo In a d d i t i o n t o the i n c o r p o r a t e d non-municipal areas the new C i t y boundaries a l s o extend i n t o u n i n c o r p o r a t e d areas. A prime example would be the southwest p o r t i o n of the new c i t y (see diagram 2). T h i s area had p r e v i o u s l y no c o r p o r a t e s t a t u s but was added i n t o the new c i t y so t h a t the tax base of the pulp m i l l and the new p o r t f a c i l i t i e s would be i n c l u d e d w i t h i n the new c i t y . There are v i r t u a l l y no r e s i d e n t s l i v i n g i n these areas. (b) P o p u l a t i o n Change and Development C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s The f o l l o w i n g s e r i e s of t a b l e s r e v e a l some of * F o r m a l l y i n c o r p o r a t e d as North Wellington,, but w i l l be c a l l e d W e l l i n g t o n throughout t h i s d i s s e r t a t i o n . ** F o r m a l l y i n c o r p o r a t e d as Mountain F i r e P r o t e c t i o n D i s t r i c t but occupies an area l o c a l l y c a l l e d E a s t W e l l i n g t o n . the p e r t i n e n t growth p a t t e r n s i n Greater Nanaimo. A number of the t a b l e s were taken from 1971 computer tapes of census data hence they were a l r e a d y outdated f o r 1974-1975. Tables I through IV show the changes i n emphasis and d i r e c t i o n i n p o p u l a t i o n growth and development t h a t have occured i n the l a s t 20 years. I t i s apparent t h a t the o l d c i t y has r e c e i v e d o n l y l i m i t e d i n c r e a s e i n i t s p o p u l a t i o n base and i n f a c t , between 1966 and 1971 census, a s l i g h t d e c l i n e i n p o p u l a t i o n was experienced. The long s t a n d i n g s t a t i c p o p u l a t i o n of Nanaimo c i t y suggests a heavy i n c i d e n c e of suburban m i g r a t i o n and a l a c k of vacant p r o p e r t y f o r new growth. A review, of the c i t y land-use map v e r i f i e s the 9 l a c k of any l a r g e t r a c t s of l a n d f o r f u t u r e expansion. Table I shows how the growth i n the area has been h e a v i l y o r i e n t e d t o the p e r i p h e r a l areas w i t h the improvement d i s t r i c t s of W e l l i n g t o n , N o r t h f i e l d and Departure Bay d i s p l a y i n g the most r a d i c a l growth. T a b l e I I i n d i c a t e s t h a t d e s p i t e the p e r i p h e r a l empahsis the o u t l y i n g areas remain low i n d e n s i t y , thus i m p l y i n g t h a t underdevelopment and s c a t t e r e d development i s p r e v e l e n t . One author has r e c o g n i z e d the s c a t t e r e d p a t t e r n of development and suggested t h a t : " t h i s ( s c a t t e r a t i o n and under-development) may be c o r r e c t e d over a time p e r i o d w i t h more c e n t r a l i z e d government." (p. 26) TABLE II NAME POPULATION (1961 - 1971) 1961 1966 1971 % Change per annum change NANAIMO 14,135 15,188 14,948 -1.5 0.3 HAREWOOD N/A 4,630 5,603 21.0 4.2 DEPARTURE BAY N/A 2,651 4,171 57.3 11.4 NORTHFIELD N/A 2,208 3,627 64.3 12.8 WELLINGTON N/A 2,693 4,642 72.3 14.4 PETROGLYPH* N/A N/A 1,300** MOUNTAIN* N/A N/A 600** * the p o p u l a t i o n date was not broken down i n t o areas t h a t p e r m i t t e d an accurate estimate of the p o p u l a t i o n . ** 1974 estimates Source: S t a t i s t i c s Canada TABLE III AREA AND DENSITY NAME AREA (acres) 1974 POPULATION GROSS DENSITY NANAIMO 1940 15,000 7.8 HAREWOOD 1880 5,000 2.7* (4.8) DEPARTURE BAY 2075 4,000 1.9 NORTHFIELD 1404.: 4,500 3.2 WELLINGTON 5825 5,100 .9 PETROGLYPH 1175 1,300 1.1 MOUNTAIN N/A 600 N/A Harewood's comparatively low f i g u r e i s somewhat d i s t o r t e d as i t i n c l u d e s a l a r g e park. The f i g u r e i n parentheses r e p r e s e n t s an estimated f i g u r e more r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of the true d e n s i t y . Source: Regional D i s t r i c t o f Nanaimo TABLE IV AGE OF RESIDENTIAL DWELLINGS AS A PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL DWELLINGS CONSTRUCTED NORTH- DEPARTURE YEAR NANAIMO HAREWOOD FIELD BAY WELLINGTON PETROGLYPH MOUNTAIN TOT, bef o r e 1946 44.5 30. 0 13.9 4.2 11. 8 13.8 50.0 100 1946-1950 13.2 15. 6 9.3 2.7 7.7 12. 8 6.5 100 1951-1960 23.7* 23.7 17.9 14.3 18.5 21.2 19.6 100 1961-1965 10. 3 14. 8 24.5 52.4 17. 7 18.1 10.9 100 1966-1970 8.2 17.1 34. 8 26. 5 44.3 33.0 13. 0 100 source: Census Canada (1971) * between 1952 and 1960 the c i t y extended i t s boundaries adding about 3,500 people to i t s p o p u l a t i o n base. TABLE V $ VALUE OF BUILDING PERMITS CITY % OF TOTAL PERIPHERAL AREAS % OF TOTAL Before 1945 -$ 2,486,000. 1945 - 1949 2,500,000 67.0 1,235,000 33.0 1950 - 1954 6,347,000 48.7 6,749,000 51.3 1955 - 1959 13,460,000 58.4 9,570,000 41.6 1960 - 1964 11,410,000 40.5 16,723,000 59.5 1965 - 1969 18,000,000 36.4 31,485,000 63.6 1970 - 1974 22,520,000 24.2 70,595,000 75.8 source: Engineering O f f i c e , C i t y of Nanaimo, January, 1975. 67. The o v e r a l l p a t t e r n o f development i s p e r c e p t i b l y l i n e a r , s t r a d d l i n g the main I s l a n d Highway. A second arm of development f o l l o w s the contour of the s h o r e l i n e . A review of the land-use shows t h a t l a r g e gaps i n the develop-ment p a t t e r n predominate. I t i s not a continuous d e s i g n . T h i s s c a t t e r e d and underdeveloped arrangement of l a n d use suggests a l a c k o f c e n t r a l c o n t r o l i n the p l a n n i n g and c o - o r d i n a t i n g of l a n d uses. To be sure, c e n t r a l p l a n n i n g does not a u t o m a t i c l l y guarantee cohesive l a n d use but as i t w i l l be seen i n Chapter f o u r i t may at l e a s t , improve the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of l a n d use and probably improve a l l other f a c e t s o f l a n d use r e g u l a t i o n . The d i s t r i b u t i o n of l a n d uses i n d i c a t e s another important c h a r a c t e r i s t i c . I t shows t h a t surrounding the p e r i p h e r y o f the o l d c i t y ' s boundaries t h e r e i s no apparent d i s t i n c t i o n i n the c h a r a c t e r o f the l a n d use. In o t h e r words, the p o l i t i c a l boundary i n t e r r u p t s an otherwise l o g i c a l and u n i n t e r r u p t e d flow i n predominantly r e s i d e n t i a l acreage. I f i t were not f o r the a r t i f i c a l l y drawn p o l i t i c a l boundaries i t would be i m p o s s i b l e to d i s t i n g u i s h between the j u r i s d i c t i o n o f the c i t y and the improvement d i s t r i c t s . I t would be l o g i c a l to u n i f y the area but U n f o r t u n a t e l y the p o l i t i c a l r e a l i t i e s o f t e n p r e c l u d e s such a c t i o n . Another important f a c t o r r e v e a l e d i n the l a n d use 68;. i s t h a t although gaps i n the land-use p a t t e r n are p r e s e n t , f o r the most p a r t , the c h a r a c t e r of the r e s i d e n t i a l environment i s predominantly urban, or perhaps more a p p r o p r i a t e l y suburban. In s h o r t , the r e s i d e n t i a l develop-ment i s not s c a t t e r e d i n terms of l a r g e l o t acreage but r a t h e r i n terms of the patchwork arrangement of s u b d i v i s i o n s . Farm and hobby farm uses are onl y s i g n i f i c a n t l y apparent i n Mountain Improvement D i s t r i c t and the western p o r t i o n s of N o r t h f i e l d . Tables I I I and IV, the age of d w e l l i n g s and the d o l l a r v a l u e of b u i l d i n g permits c o r r o b o r a t e e a r l i e r t a b l e s . The age of d w e l l i n g t a b l e r e v e a l s s e v e r a l important f a c t s . F i r s t , the o l d c i t y , Harewood and Mountain D i s t r i c t s have the l a r g e s t p r o p o r t i o n of homes b u i l t p r i o r t o 1946. The o l d c i t y and Harewood are the most urbani z e d areas i n m e t r o p o l i t a n Nanaimo. Mountain D i s t r i c t on the other hand i s the most r u r a l i n c h a r a c t e r . Some farming a c t i v i t y i s s t i l l c a r r i e d on and homes c o n s t r u c t e d d u r i n g the c o a l mining days remain i n t a c t . Second, Departure Bay experie n c e d a remarkable f l u r r y of housing c o n s t r u c t i o n between 1961 and 1966 (see Tab l e I I I ) . I t was d u r i n g those years t h a t many l a r g e new s u b d i v i s i o n s and road c o n s t r u c t i o n programs were undertaken i n the d i s t r i c t . T h i r d , much of Petr o g l y p h ' s r e c e n t r e s i d e n t i a l growth i s a t t r i b u t e d t o l a r g e mobile home parks. F i n a l l y , as would be expected when viewed i n l i g h t 69. of the f i n d i n g s of Table I, W e l l i n g t o n and N o r t h f i e l d e xperienced the l a r g e s t i n c r e a s e i n c o n s t r u c t i o n i n the l a s t h a l f decade. The a v a i l a b i l i t y , of l a n d suggests t h a t the l a r g e s t c o n c e n t r a t i o n s of f u t u r e r e s i d e n t i a l growth w i l l be i n these two d i s t r i c t s . (c) Social-Economic C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s Tables V and VI r e v e a l two of the more t r a d i t i o n a l socio-economic i n d i c a t o r s . Table V shows the l e v e l of e d u c a t i o n f o r the f a m i l y head. The t a b l e l i s t s 7 l e v e l s of e d u c a t i o n a l attainment. The s a l i e n t f a c t o r i n t h i s t a b l e i s the e x c e p t i o n a l l y high l e v e l of u n i v e r s i t y graduates l i v i n g i n the Departure Bay area. N e a r l y 20% of a l l f a m i l y heads have r e c e i v e d a u n i v e r s i t y degree. N o r t h f i e l d , the second h i g h e s t l e v e l had 5.5% of the f a m i l y heads having a u n i v e r s i t y degree. The C i t y of Nanaimo, Harewood, P e t r o g l y p h and Mountain possess s i m i l a r e d u c a t i o n attainment c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . Between 70-75% of the f a m i l y heads i n these areas have not o b t a i n e d a grade 12 s t a n d i n g . As commonly r e c o g n i z e d , t a b l e VI, average f a m i l y income, c o r r e l a t e s s t r o n g l y w i t h e d u c a t i o n . The o l d c i t y d i s p l a y e d the lowest average income, but a l l f o u r areas c i t e d i n the above paragraph t h a t had s i m i l a r l e v e l s of e d u c a t i o n a l s o had s i m i l a r annual average incomes. In c o n t r a s t Departure Bay generated an average annual f a m i l y income some $4,000.00 high e r than the second h i g h e s t TABLE VI % OF EDUCATION LEVEL OF HOUSEHOLD HEADS DEPARTURE SCHOOLING NANAIMO HAREWOOD NORTHFIELD WELLINGTON BAY PETROGLYPH MOUNTAIN no education 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 grades 1-8 99 100 100 100 100 97 100 grades 9-10 69 68 78 78 83 59 77 grade 11 42 39 48 52 70 33 44 grade 12 31 29 38 40 55 25 28 some u n i v e r s i t y 14 9 13 17 33 4 14 degree 4 2 6 5 20 1 2 source: 1971 Cencus •vl-TABLE VII AVERAGE INCOME (family) NANAIMO . . HAREWOOD . . DEPARTURE BAY NORTHFIELD . WELLINGTON . PETROGLYPH . MOUNTAIN . . $ 8,032.00 8,212.00 13,825.00 9,535.00 9,806.00 8,255.00 8,300.00 Source: Census Canada, 1971 72. average income area. Without a more e x t e n s i v e a n a l y s i s of s o c i o -economic i n d i c a t o r s i t would be premature t o a s s e r t t h a t t h e r e are i d e n t i f y a b l y socio-economic nieghbourhoods. I t i s however, s a f e t o say t h a t each improvement d i s t r i c t and the o l d c i t y d i s p l a y e d some c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s t h a t were s p e c i a l and i n d i v i d u a l t o each l o c a l area. 73. 1. Johnson, P.M. A Short H i s t o r y o f Nanaimo. Nanaimo: Evergreen Press L t d . , 1958. 2. Jackman, S.W. Vancouver I s l a n d . Vancouver: David and Charles L t d . , 1972. 3. Matheson, M.H. "Some E f f e c t s o f Coal Mining Upon the Development o f the Nanaimo Area," M.A. T h e s i s , U.B.C., 1950 , p. 76. 4. F o r r e s t e r , E.A.M. "The Urban Development of C e n t r a l Vancouver I s l a n d , " M.A. Thesis,U.B.C., 1966, p. 57. 5. A.V.G. Management S e r v i c e s . Economic A n a l y s i s o f the Regional D i s t r i c t o f Nanaimo. Vancouver: 1973. 6. In 19 74, the F e d e r a l Government announced the con-s t r u c t i o n o f l a r g e new p o r t f a c i l i t i e s a t Jacks P o i n t , j u s t n o r t h of MacMillan Blodel's'Harmac' Pulp m i l l . 7. Many of the s t a t i s t i c s i n t h i s paragraph were taken from: Tyne, R. 'Nanaimo C e l e b r a t e s Century of Progress," Trade and Commerce Magazine. A p r i l , 1974. 8. A.V.G. Management S e r v i c e s . Op. C i t . 9. see Apendix 10. A.V.G. Management S e r v i c e s . Op. C i t . CHAPTER 4 A. INTRODUCTION Chapter two d i s c u s s e d a t some le n g t h the reasons which p r e c i p i t a t e p o l i t i c a l r e s t r u c t u r e . To r e i t e r a t e b r i e f l y the p r i n c i p a l reasons i n c l u d e : (a) a l a r g e r p o p u l a t i o n and j u r i s d i c t i o n may permit a more e f f i c i e n t d e l i v e r y o f s e r v i c e s r e s u l t i n g from lower u n i t c o s t s ; (b) a l a r g e r and s t r o n g e r tax base, r e s u l t i n g from l a r g e r assessments w i l l enable b e t t e r and more p l e n t i f u l l o c a l government s e r v i c e s ; (c) more l o g i c a l boundaries f o r growth and development may permit a .more economic, a e s t h e t i c and s o c i a l l y compatable d i s t r i b u t i o n o f land-uses; (d) the m i t i g a t i o n o f c o n f l i c t and d u p l i c a t i o n caused by i n t e r m u n i c i p a l c o m p e t i t i o n and j e a l o u s y ; (e) a more e q u i t a b l e r e l a t i o n s h i p between those paying f o r the c o s t s o f m u n i c i p a l s e r v i c e s and those b e n e f i t i n g from them; (f) a l a r g e r complement of p r o f e s s i o n a l and t e c h n i c a l h e l p can be employed whose t a l e n t s can be harnessed t o improve the g e n e r a l performance of m u n i c i p a l government; 75. (g) m u n i c i p a l s t a t u s and l a r g e r p o p u l a t i o n w i l l a t t r a c t more s e n i o r government grants, a f f o r d g r e a t e r borrowing powers and l i k e l y r e s u l t i n f a v o u r a b l e i n t e r e s t r a t e s on bond markets; (h) c i t i z e n s l i v i n g on the p e r i p h e r y w i l l be giv e n the o p p o r t u n i t y to p a r t i c i p a t e i n the a f f a i r s o f the core c i t y . O b v i ously not a l l the pu r p o r t e d b e n e f i t s w i l l n e c e s s a r i l y be a p p l i c a b l e t o i n d i v i d u a l l o c a l c o n d i t i o n s . Some f a c t o r s may have no b e a r i n g on l o c a l c o n d i t i o n s w h i l e others may have more important impacts. The essence of r e s t r u c t u r e however i s to improve the g e n e r a l performance of l o c a l government. B. POLITICAL STRUCTURE IN NANAIMO BEFORE AMALGAMATION The development of Nanaimo has been examined i n Chapter 3. I t showed t h a t over the years Nanaimo's suburbs have sprawled out i n t o the surrounding unorganized t e r r i t o r y . As a r e s u l t v a r i o u s government s t r u c t u r e s and p u b l i c agencies were e s t a b l i s h e d to p r o v i d e c e r t a i n s e r v i c e s to the o u t l y i n g r e s i d e n t s . For d e s c r i p t i v e purposes agencies which con-t i b u t e d to l o c a l government i n Nanaimo p r i o r t o r e s t r u c t u r e can be d i v i d e d i n t o f o u r groups: (a) C i t y of Nanaimo and improvement d i s t r i c t s ; (b) r e g i o n a l agencies, (c) p r o v i n c i a l departments and (d) o t h e r s . (a) C i t y o f Nanaimo and Improvement D i s t r i c t s Nanaimo was a c i t y m u n i c i p a l i t y e s t a b l i s h e d under the M u n i c i p a l A c t . I t s p o p u l a t i o n was about 15/000 p r i o r to restructure.,/, and encompassed an area of about 3 square m i l e s . The 3 sq. m i l e area was s m a l l r e l a t i v e to other B r i t i s h Columbia m u n i c i p a l i t i e s of l i k e population."*" I t i s q u i t e apparent t h a t i t s s i z e f r u s t r a t e d the g e n e r a l development of the c i t y to the ext e n t t h a t c e r t a i n f u n c t i o n s c o n s i d e r e d b a s i c t o the modern urban needs o f a community were l a c k i n g . For example the c i t y had no p l a n n i n g department or p e r s o n n e l p o s s e s s i n g a p l a n n i n g background. Surrounding the o l d c i t y , l o c a l government c o n s i s t e d of a number of improvement d i s t r i c t s . Chapter 3 i n d i c a t e d t h a t each independent improvement d i s t r i c t was s m a l l i n p o p u l a t i o n (Mountain f i r e p r o t e c t i o n d i s t r i c t showing the s m a l l e s t p o p u l a t i o n w i t h 600 r e s i d e n t s and Harewood having the l a r g e s t w i t h 5,500 r e s i d e n t s ) . A l t o g e t h e r however the o u t s i d e areas c o n t a i n e d a p o p u l a t i o n g r e a t e r than the o l d c i t y . I n d i v i d u a l l y , the improvement d i s t r i c t s were f a i r l y s m a l l i n area, but they c o l l e c t i v e l y enveloped a r e g i o n c l o s e t o 10 times the s i z e o f the o l d c i t y . Chapter 3 l i s t e d s i x improvement d i s t r i c t s surrounding the C i t y of Nanaimo t h a t p a r t i c i p a t e d i n amalgamation, but i n f a c t g r e a t e r f r a c t i o n a l i z a t i o n p r e v a i l e d . Departure Bay and W e l l i n g t o n had s e p a r a t e l y i n c o r p o r a t e d f i r e p r o t e c t i o n d i s t r i c t s and water works d i s t r i c t s , although both were i n c o r p o r a t e d under the Water Act . (Water works d i s t r i c t s and f i r e p r o t e c t i o n d i s t r i c t s are synonomous to improvement d i s t r i c t s i t i s simply a more exact way o f d e s c r i b i n g the f u n c t i o n s p r o v i d e d i n the L e t t e r s Patent of each D i s t r i c t ) . A fundamental d i f f i c u l t y w i t h t h i s j u r i s d i c t i o n a l s e t up was t h a t the boundaries of each d i s t r i c t were not always conterminous. I t was p o s s i b l e f o r example f o r a r e s i d e n t to be l i v i n g i n the Departure Bay Waterworks D i s t r i c t and the W e l l i n g t o n F i r e P r o t e c t i o n D i s t r i c t . T h i s i n e v i t a b l y r e s u l t e d i n some c o n f u s i o n . Chapter 2 d i s c u s s e d the l e g a l i m p l i c a t i o n s of improvement d i s t r i c t s . The chapter showed t h a t they (the improvement d i s t r i c t s ) cannot l e g a l l y perform p o l i c i n g , b u i l d i n g i n s p e c t i o n , animal c o n t r o l , s t r e e t and road improve-ment, s o c i a l w e l f a r e and c e r t a i n u t i l i t i e s such as t r a n s i t . Although the Water Act enables improvement d i s t r i c t s to im-plement zoning by-laws, i n the case o f Greater Nanaimo none d i d so u n t i l the Regional D i s t r i c t of Nanaimo i n t e r v e n e d . T h e i r borrowing powers were l i m i t e d . A d m i n i s t r a t i v e l y , improvement d i s t r i c t s , f o r the most p a r t , were, not l a r g e i n area, p o p u l a t i o n , or tax base and thus i f l e g a l l y p e r m i t t e d t o supply a f u l l range of s e r v i c e s i t i s d o u b t f u l t h a t they c o u l d support the necessary s t a f f . A 1970 r e p o r t which examined the s t a t e of l o c a l 2 government i n Nanaimo s t a t e d : "...improvement d i s t r i c t s are e s t a b l i s h e d to p r o v i d e a s p e c i f i c s e r v i c e o r s e r v i c e s . L e v e l s of t a x a t i o n are s e t j u s t t o cover the c o s t s of the s e r v i c e and the q u a l i t y of the s e r v i c e determines the l e v e l of t a x a t i o n , thus t h e r e are v i r t u a l l y no e x t r a revenues which can be used f o r d i s c r e t i o n a r y spending t o r e f l e c t the changing c i t i z e n p r i o r i t e s . In f a c t , i n t h i s r e s p e c t an improvement d i s t r i c t , more c l o s e l y r e p r e s e n t s a p u b l i c u t i l i t y company than a t r u e u n i t of government." (b) R e g i o n a l Agencies I . R e g i o n a l D i s t r i c t The dominant r e g i o n a l agency a f f e c t i n g l o c a l government i n g r e a t e r Nanaimo was the R e g i o n a l D i s t r i c t * of Nanaimo. The R e g i o n a l D i s t r i c t was i n c o r p o r a t e d i n 1967. I t s j u r i s d i c t i o n covers an area s u b s t a n t i a l l y l a r g e r than Greater Nanaimo - approximately 793 square m i l e s . S i n c e *The reader i s r e f e r r e d t o Chapter 2 f o r a d i s c u s s i o n on the p h i l o s o p h y behind r e g i o n a l d i s t r i c t s . i t s i n c e p t i o n the Regional D i s t r i c t has p l a y e d an ever i n c r e a s i n g r o l e i n supplementing l o c a l s e r v i c e p r o v i s i o n . As w e l l as i t s mandatory f u n c t i o n s (which i n c l u d e h o s p i t a l and l i b r a r y a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , r e g i o n a l p l a n n i n g , land-use r e g u l a t i o n i n unorganized areas, r e g i o n a l parks and b u i l d i n g permits) i t has assumed oth e r f u n c t i o n s . Immediately p r i o r to amalgamation the Regional D i s t r i c t a d m i n i s t e r e d p u b l i c t r a n s i t , the r e c r e a t i o n complex, ambulance s e r v i c e 3 and sewer and draxnage. Taxes were l e v i e d f o r p u b l i c t r a n s i t t o r e s i d e n t s l i v i n g w i t h i n a b e n e f i t i n g area. The b e n e f i t i n g area i n c l u d e d a l l p r o p e r t i e s l y i n g w i t h i n 1/2 m i l e of the t r a n s i t r o u t e s . The C i t y of Nanaimo, Harewood, Departure Bay, N o r t h f i e l d and W e l l i n g t o n were a l l r e c e i v i n g bus t r a n s i t b e f o r e amalgamation. Taxes were l e v i e d f o r s o l i d waste d i s p o s a l expenses to a l l r e s i d e n t s l i v i n g w i t h i n the Nanaimo School D i s t r i c t boundaries. The r e c r e a t i o n complex was f i n a n c e d i n a s i m i l a r f a s h i o n . Ambulance s e r v i c e was p a i d f o r by r e s i d e n t s l i v i n g w i t h i n an area roughly d e f i n e d as m e t r o p o l i t a n Nanaimo. I t i n c l u d e d p r o p e r t i e s to the n o r t h , south and west of the amalgamated c i t y . In 19 72 the Regional D i s t r i c t assumed r e s p o n s i b i l i f o r sewage d i s p o s a l . P r i o r t o 19 72, sewage and drainage was a d m i n i s t e r e d by Greater Nanaimo Sewage and Drainage 80'. D i s t r i c t (G.N.S.D.D.), a s i n g l e purpose body formed some twenty years ago by a s p e c i a l A c t of the P r o v i n c i a l L e g i s l a t u r e . The Reg i o n a l D i s t r i c t , l i k e i t s p r e d e s s o r , acted as a wh o l e s a l e r and c o n t r a c t e d i n d i v i d u a l l y t o each member r e t a i l e r . The member r e t a i l e r s then s e t l e v i e s f o r the i n d i v i d u a l consumers w i t h i n t h e i r j u r i s d i c t i o n . The r e t a i l members i n c l u d e d , the C i t y of Nanaimo, Harewood Improvement D i s t r i c t , Departure Bay Waterworks D i s t r i c t . I I . G r e a t e r Nanaimo Water D i s t r i c t (G.N.W.D.) S i m i l a r t o the G.NS.D.D., the Greater Nanaimo Water D i s t r i c t was i n t r o d u c e d i n 1953 by way of a p r i v a t e 4 Act o f the P r o v i n c i a l L e g i s l a t u r e . In c o n t r a s t w i t h the G.N.S.D.D. i t has not been assumed by the Re g i o n a l D i s t r i c t . The G.N.W.D. acted as a who l e s a l e r of water t o the member r e t a i l e r s . They i n c l u d e d , the C i t y of Nanaimo, and the improvement d i s t r i c t s of Pe t r o g l y p h , Harewood, N o r t h f i e l d , Departure Bay and W e l l i n g t o n . I t a l s o c o n t r a c t e d w i t h a l l improvement d i s t r i c t s but Harewood f o r s e r v i c i n g the system. The G.N.W.D. was run by a f i v e member board cbQsen from the member r e t a i l consumers. The wholesale p r i c i n g o f the water was done s t r i c t l y on the b a s i s o f recouping the c o s t s of the o p e r a t i o n . I I I . School D i s t r i c t #68 The s c h o o l d i s t r i c t . e n c o m p a s s e s an area uwi^ l 81". l a r g e r than Greater Nanaimo. The e l e c t e d Board of Trustees are accountable f o r the g e n e r a l o p e r a t i o n of the s c h o o l d i s t r i c t . The Board s e t s an annual budget and l e v i e s a m i l l r a t e f o r s c h o o l purposes. The s c h o o l tax l e v y i s the same f o r both r u r a l and urban areas and i s s e t independ-a n t l y from C i t y o r Improvement D i s t r i c t m i l l r a t e s . The 1974 m i l l r a t e f o r s c h o o l D i s t r i c t #68 (Nanaimo) stood a t . 5 36.4 m i l l s or $7,679,000. R e s t r u c t u r e w i l l have no a f f e c t on s c h o o l d i s t r i c t o p e r a t i o n s . (c) P rovine1a1 Governmen t The p r o v i n c i a l government e x e r t e d c o n s i d e r a b l e i n f l u e n c e on l o c a l government, p a r t i c u l a r l y i n non-m u n i c i p a l areas. Departments which had important impacts on the p r o v i s i o n o f l o c a l s e r v i c e s i n the Nanaimo area i n c l u d e s : Department of the Att o r n e y General: P r o v i d e s a l l p o l i c i n g and c o u r t s e r v i c e s : The department c o n t r a c t s w i t h the R.C.M.P. to p r o v i d e p o l i c e s e r v i c e s i n non-municipal areas; Department o f M u n i c i p a l A f f a i r s : a d m i n i s t e r s a l l f u n c t i o n s pursuant to the M u n i c i p a l A c t . A l l R e g i o n a l D i s t r i c t s and m u n i c i p a l i t e s are a d m i n i s t e r e d by t h i s department; Department of Educat i o n : s e t s out p o l i c y and c u r r i c u l u m g u i d e l i n e s and undertakes r e s e a r c h f o r e d u c a t i o n throughout the p r o v i n c e ; Department of Human Resources: s o c i a l a s s i s t a n c e i s p r o v i d e d t o t a l l y by the p r o v i n c i a l government i n non-municipal areas and on a c o s t s h a r i n g b a s i s w i t h the C i t y . 82. Department of H e a l t h : h e a l t h s e r v i c e s are c a r r i e d out by the C e n t r a l Vancouver I s l a n d Health U n i t . I t p r o v i d e s s e r v i c e to both the o l d c i t y and unorganized areas; Department o f Water Resources: p r o v i d e s two primary f u n c t i o n s , (i) i s s u a n c e of water l e a s e s f o r watershed purposes, ( i i ) a d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f improvement d i s t r i c t s (not t r a n s f e r r e d to the Department of M u n i c i p a l A f f a i r s ) ; Department of Highways: Nanaimo Highways D i s t r i c t i s r e s p o n s i b l e f o r c o n s t r u c t i o n and maintenance o f a l l highways and major a r t e r i a l s i n G reater Nanaimo. The department p r o v i d e s a l l s t r e e t and roadwork s e r v i c e s and, as an a n c i l l a r y f u n c t i o n , i s the c h i e f approving o f f i c e r f o r s u b d i v i s i o n i n the unorganized a r e a s . (d) Other Bodies There were ot h e r independant bodies which p r o v i d e d some semblance o f p u b l i c s e r v i c e to Greater Nanaimo r e s i d e n t s . The most important would i n c l u d e : (i) B.C. Hydro and Power A u t h o r i t y - p u b l i c u t i l i t y ( i i ) B.C. Telephone Company - p r i v a t e company ( i i i ) Nanaimo D i s p o s a l - p r i v a t e l y operated, garbage c o l l e c t i o n f i r m (Iv) Vancouver I s l a n d Gas Co. - p r i v a t e l y operated n a t u r a l gas r e t a i l e r (v) S.P.C.A. - the a s s o c i a t i o n was under c o n t r a c t f o r the o l d c i t y t o p r o v i d e animal c o n t r o l . 83. T h i s b r i e f review of p u b l i c a c t i v i t y i n l o c a l government i n Nanaimo i l l u s t r a t e s t h a t w i t h i n one f a i r l y comprehensive and interdependant area there were numerous p u b l i c agencies i n f l u e n c i n g l o c a l government. The C i t y o f Nanaimo was a s m a l l , b u i l t - u p area, with a s t a t i o n a r y p o p u l a t i o n which tended t o l i m i t i t s tax base. The o u t l y i n g improvement d i s t r i c t s l a c k e d much of the necessary i n t e r n a l s u p e r s t r u c t u r e to f u n c t i o n i n a manner c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of an urban government. The m u l t i - j u r i s d i c t i o n s a l s o h i n d e r e d a h e a l t h y tax base. The p r o v i n c i a l government though not a l o c a l government per se p l a y e d an important r o l e i n performing l o c a l s e r v i c e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n the unorganized areas. The major drawback wi t h p r o v i n c i a l p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n l o c a l s e r v i c e s was t h a t each department performed o n l y one f u n c t i o n w i t h i n independently drawn d i s t r i c t boundaries. P r o v i n c i a l c o n t r o l a l s o reduces c i t i z e n access and p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n determining s e r v i c e needs. . There are no l o c a l l y e l e c t e d t r u s t e e s , c o u n c i l members or board members to be h e l d accountable f o r t h e i r a c t i o n s . They cannot i m i t i a t e l o c a l government. Greater Nanaimo was f o r t u n a t e i n having w e l l e s t a b l i s h e d r e g i o n a l agencies. In p a r t i c u l a r the Regional D i s t r i c t a d m i n i s t e r e d a number of s e r v i c e s most e f f i c i e n t l y 84. d e l i v e r e d on a r e g i o n a l b a s i s . Since 196 7 the Regional D i s t r i c t o f Nanaimo a c q u i r e d r e s p o n s i b i l i t y (through P r o v i n c i a l s t a t u t e or D i s t r i c t by-laws) f o r r e g i o n a l p l a n n i n g and l a n d use c o n t r o l i n non-municipal areas, r e g i o n a l parks, b u i l d i n g p e r m i t s , h o s p i t a l s , ambulance s e r v i c e , p u b l i c t r a n s i t , the r e c r e a t i o n complex and sewer and drainage. Even p r i o r t o the i n c e p t i o n of the Regional D i s t r i c t , sewer, drainage and water had been i n c o r p o r a t e d as s i n g l e purpose e n t i t i e s f o r r e g i o n a l d e l i v e r y . On the s u r f a c e the s u g g e s t i o n of w e l l e s t a b l i s h e d r e g i o n a l s e r v i c i n g would tend to d i s c l a i m and even c o n t r a d i c t one o f the b a s i c aims o f r e s t r u c t u r e - t h a t b e i n g the improved d e l i v e r y of s e r v i c e s and the concomitant savings due to economies of s c a l e . Regional s e r v i c e s were plagued i n t h e i r e f f e c t i v e n s s however because the r e g i o n a l body a c t e d p r i m a r i l y as a w h o l e s a l e r and wholesaled t h e i r s e r v i c e to r e t a i l consuming members. As a r e s u l t no o v e r a l l long range p l a n s or o b j e c t i v e s were d i s c u s s e d o r formulated f o r G r e a t er Nanaimo. Each improvement d i s t r i c t o r the C i t y ( i . e . the i n d i v i d u a l r e t a i l members) was concerned on l y w i t h meeting the s e r v i c e demands of t h e i r p a r t i c u l a r c o n s t i t u t e n c y and q u i t e n a t u r a l l y were not p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t e r e s t e d i n a s c e r t a i n i n g the broader i m p l i c a t i o n s or consequences. T h i s c o n d i t i o n a l s o c r e a t e d c e r t a i n d u p l i c a t i o n . For example water b i l l s were sent out by each 85. improvement d i s t r i c t . Each d i s t r i c t t h e r e f o r e had to s e t up i t s own a d m i n i s t r a t i v e machinery. A c e n t r a l i z e d o p e r a t i o n would reduce t h i s unnecessary r e p e t i t i o n . G i v i n g g r e a t e r a u t h o r i t y to the Regional D i s t r i c t i n l i e u of amalgamation had m e r i t and would l i k e l y have occured i f amalgamation was r e j e c t e d , however such a move has c e r t a i n u n d e s i r a b l e f e a t u r e s . The R e g i o n a l D i s t r i c t was, and continues to be a r e g i o n a l agency c o n s t i t u t e d t o d e a l w i t h r e g i o n a l i s s u e s and not designed t o p r o v i d e t o t a l l o c a l government s u p e r v i s i o n . T h e i r l a r g e j u r i s d i c t i o n does not l e n d i t s e l f to l o c a l c o n t r o l and i d e n t i f i c a t i o n . Perhaps the b i g g e s t drawbacks to the Regional D i s t r i c t assuming a more dominant r o l e i s the method of p i c k i n g board members. Board members are e l e c t e d from throughout the Regional D i s t r i c t and thus i n the aase o f Nanaimo Regional D i s t r i c t an e l e c t e d board member from Qualicum, B r i t i s h Columbia, a v i l l a g e about 35 m i l e s n o r t h of Nanaimo but w i t h i n the r e g i o n a l d i s t r i c t ' s j u r i s d i c t i o n , would be making d e c i s i o n s t o t a l l y l o c a l i n nature. C. PROBLEMS CAUSED BY THE EXISTING POLITICAL STRUCTURE IN GREATER NANAIMO To determine the e f f e c t of p o l i t i c a l fragmentation i t i s necessary to examine i n g r e a t e r d e t a i l s p e c i f i c c o n d i t i o n s p r e v a i l i n g p r i o r to amalgamation. The a n a l y s i s w i l l 86. be d i v i d e d i n t o f o u r g e n e r a l areas: (i) d i f f e r e n c e s i n l e v e l s of s e r v i c e ; ( i i ) i n e q u i t i e s between the o l d c i t y of Nanaimo and the o u t l y i n g improvement d i s t r i c t s i n the c o s t s and b e n e f i t s of s u p p l y i n g s e r v i c e s ; ( i i i ) the s t a t e of p l a n n i n g and c o - o r d i n a t i o n i n Greater Nanaimo; (iv) summary - others T o . a s s i s t i n a s c e r t a i n i n g the e f f e c t s of p o l i t i c a l fragmentation the author s o l i c i t e d the support of the n ine newly e l e c t e d c i t y c o u n c i l members of the r e s t r u c t u r e d c i t y o f Nanaimo. -With the e x c e p t i o n o f one neophyte, a l l members had served i n an e l e c t e d c a p a c i t y e i t h e r as a c o u n c i l person w i t h the o l d c i t y o r as an e l e c t e d t r u s t e e of an improvement d i s t r i c t . T h i s group of l o c a l c i t i z e n s was s e l e c t e d to complement the i n v e s t i g a t i o n s because of t h e i r unique p o s i t i o n of b e i n g i n a d e c i s i o n making c a p a c i t y . By the very nature of t h e i r o f f i c e , t h i s w e l l d e f i n e d group of people are motivated by a deep concern and s e n s i t i v i t y f o r the d i r e c t i o n of the community. They should presumably be atuned t o the problems i n h e r e n t i n the p r e v i o u s government arrangement. The i n t e r v i e w s were conducted i n Nanaimo e a r l y i n February, 19 75. Each i n t e r v i e w l a s t e d approximately one hour. A s t r u c t u r e d s e t o f q u e s t i o n s were asked, a copy o f which can be found i n the appendix o f t h i s r e p o r t . The answers e l i c i t e d were by design s u b j e c t i v e , as the primary o b j e c t i v e of the i n t e r v i e w s was to g a i n some a p p r e c i a t i o n f o r the p u b l i c ' s p e r c e p t i o n and a t t i t u d e on the e x i s t i n g government arrangement. (a) D i f f e r e n c e s i n L e v e l s o f S e r v i c e V a r i a t i o n i n s e r v i c e l e v e l s between the l o c a l government u n i t s r e s u l t s from many t h i n g s not the l e a s t of which i s the s t a t e of government o r g a n i z a t i o n . T h i s i s because the q u a l i t y and q u a n t i t y o f s e r v i c e s rendered can o n l y be as good as i t s a d m i n i s t r a t i v e competence. Tables I through I I I i l l u s t r a t e numbers, q u a l i t y and c o s t s of s e r v i c e s s u p p l i e d by the C i t y of Nanaimo and the v a r i o u s improvement d i s t r i c t s a f f e c t e d by amalgamation. Table I l i s t s the l o c a l governments and t h e i r f u n c t i o n s . The o l d c i t y managed a normal c o l l e c t i o n of urban s e r v i c e s . Harewood and Departure Bay h e l d the most complete a r r a y of s e r v i c e s f o r improvement d i s t r i c t s . The o l d C i t y , Harewood and Departure Bay were the o n l y l o c a l governments to p r o v i d e a parks f u n c t i o n . Harewood was the o l d e s t and most i n t e n s i v e l y developed d i s t r i c t and q u i t e n a t u r a l l y r e a r e d a f a i r l y e x t e n s i v e complement of urban s e r v i c e s . Departure Bay c a t e r e d to a s i m i l a r number of TABLE VIII L o c a l Governments and T h e i r F u n c t i o n s DEPARTURE 1. SERVICES NANAIMO BAY HAREWOOD NORTHFIELD WELLINGTON PETROGLYPH MOUM REGIONAL Pub. Schools X X X X X- X X * Reg. H o s p i t a l X X X X X X X * Reg. L i b r a r y X X X X X x.: X * Sewer X X X X X * Water X X X X X X * S o l i d Waste D i s p o s a l X X X X X X X *- Ambulance X X X X X X X * R e c r e a t i o n Complex X X X X X x..: X * P u b l i c t r a n s i t X X X. X X LOCAL S t r e e t l i g h t i n g X X X X X X Parks & R e c r e a t i o n X X X Garbage C o l l e c t i o n X X X X X Cemetaries X Animal C o n t r o l X F i r e f u l l v olun- v o l u n - v o l u n - v o l u n - v o l u n - volun-P r o t e c t i o n time t e e r t e e r t e e r t e e r t e e r t e e r P o l i c i n g X X X X X X X * "Administered by•the Regional D i s t r i c t s e r v i c e s . I t also enjoyed the highest per capi ta income. Its tax base was concurrently hea l th ly r e l a t i v e to other * improvement d i s t r i c t s and as one c o u n c i l member described i t " i t received r e l a t i v e l y l i t t l e s t a t i c from i t s r a t e -payers . " At the l o c a l l e v e l f i r e p r o t e c t i o n i s p o s s i b l y the most bas ic service and i n the case of 'amalgamated' Nanaimo the only service which a l l l o c a l government u n i t s had e s t a b l i s h e d . The C i t y provided the only f u l l time f i r e department while a l l improvement d i s t r i c t s provided volunteer f o r c e s . Most d e f i n i t e l y , the volunteer system i s i n f e r i o r i n q u a l i t y . I t cannot dupl ica te a f u l l time s t a f f . This i s r e f l e c t e d i n f i r e insurance ra tes . In 1970, the d i f f e r e n c e between the C i t y and Harewood rates (which were equal to the best improvement d i s t r i c t f i r e rat ing) were $ .15 per $100.00 of insured value f o r a three year per iod higher than the C i t y . At today's housing p r i c e s the d i f f e r e n c e i n insurance costs i s appreciable . * For example, the 1973 t o t a l taxable assessments for general purposes i n Departure Bay were $15,535,303. T h i s compares with $11,828,558 and $10,082,904. for N o r t h f i e l d and Harewood r e s p e c t i v e l y , the second and t h i r d highest improvement d i s t r i c t assessments. 90. One of the major p e r p l e x i t i e s t h a t r e s u l t e d from the complex p a t t e r n of l o c a l government was t h a t seven d i f f e r e n t f i r e j u r i s d i c t i o n s i n v a r i a b l y c r e a t e d c o n f u s i o n with boundary d e t e r m i n a t i o n , e s p e c i a l l y when three f i r e d i s t r i c t s (converged i n the midst of one r e s i d e n t i a l s u b d i v i s i o n . S e v e r a l r e p o r t s have a l s o i n d i c a t e d t h a t w i t h the r a p i d growth i n the p e r i p h e r a l d i s t r i c t s , some of the 7 f i r e departments were now not i d e a l l y l o c a t e d . Table I I i l l u s t r a t e s more e x p l i c i t l y , the v a r i a t i o n i n the q u a l i t y o f s e r v i c e . I t shows t h a t there was a wide d i f f e r e n c e i n the p r o p o r t i o n o f r e s i d e n t i a l p r o p e r t i e s s e r v i c e d by water, sewer and s t r e e t - l i g h t i n g even though Chapter I I I u n d e r l i n e d the f a c t t h a t r e s i d e n t i a l development i n the improvement d i s t r i c t s was p r i m a r i l y urban or more c o r r e c t l y suburban i n c h a r a c t e r , i m p l y i n g t h a t r e s i d e n t i a l d e n s i t i e s d i d not d i f f e r i n o r d i n a n t l y throughout much o f Greater Nanaimo. Thus with comparable d e n s i t i e s the q u a l i t y and q u a n t i t y o f s e r v i c e s should l o g i c a l l y be s i m i l a r . Table II however suggests otherwise. Table I I shows t h a t although Harewood and Departure Bay were the same i n terms of the number of s e r v i c e s rendered to i t s r a t e p a y e r s , the d i s t r i b u t i o n of s e r v i c e s to Harewood r e s i d e n t s were more u n i v e r s a l l y a p p l i e d . In the i n s t a n c e of s t r e e t - l i g h t i n g the q u a l i t y even exceeded t h a t of the c i t y , 65% of the TABLE IX % of R e s i d e n t i a l P r o p e r t i e s S e r v i c e d by S t r e e t - l i g h t i n g , Water, Sewer SERVICE S t r e e t -l i g h t i n g Water Sewer DEPARTURE NANAIMO HAREWOOD BAY NORTHFIELD WELLINGTON PETROGLYPH MOUNTAIN 45% 100 100 65% 95 95 20% 95 60 1 5 5 50 50 5% 90 65 17? 90 % of Vacant R e s i d e n t i a l P r o p e r t i e s of Improvement D i s t r i c t s S e r v i c e d by N e i t h e r Water or Sewer Water Water & Sewer 435 11 46 265 2 72 135 78 8 375 47 16 11$ 89 100% T o t a l Vacant Lots 769 403 329 880 425 309 Source: Nanaimo Regional D i s t r i c t (March 1974) 92.'.. r e s i d e n t i a l p r o p e r t i e s i n Harewood enjoyed s t r e e t - l i g h t i n g compared to 45% f o r the C i t y and 20% f o r Departure Bay. The d i s t r i b u t i o n of s e r v i c e s of vacant r e s i d e n t i a l p r o p e r t i e s i n Table I I shows t h a t N o r t h f i e l d , W e l l i n g t o n , P e t r o g l y p h and Mountain d i s t r i c t s have few vacant p r o p e r t i e s w i t h f u l l s e r v i c e s . In f a c t P e t r o g l y p h and Mountain d i s t r i c t s have none of t h e i r combined 734 vacant l o t s f u l l y s e r v i c e d . W e l l i n g t o n has 16% of i t s 880 vacant l o t s s e r v i c e d w i t h sewer and water, w h i l e N o r t h f i e l d has but 8% of i t s 329 vacant r e s i d e n t i a l l o t s s e r v i c e d with both sewer and water. Table I I I shows t h a t there are d i f f e r e n c e s between the l o c a l government u n i t s w i t h r e s p e c t t o the amount charged to the i n d i v i d u a l consumer f o r the d e l i v e r y o f the same s e r v i c e . The l a s t three columns i n Table I I I are most r e l e v e n t . They show t h a t sewer, water and garbage s e r v i c e s vary s i g n i f i c a n t l y i n charges l e v i e d t o the consumer y e t the q u a l i t y and c h a r a c t e r of the s e r v i c e was the same. Under one j u r i s d i c t i o n c o s t s f o r the same s e r v i c e c o u l d be e q u a l i z e d . (b) D i s t r i b u t i o n of B e n e f i t s and Costs I t i s contended t h a t one of the main n e g a t i v e e f f e c t s of l o c a l government f r a c t i o n a l i z a t i o n i s the u n d e s i r e a b l e c o n d i t i o n whereby some areas are burdened wi t h TABLE ,X co SERVICE S c h o o l MILL RATE AND USER TAXES (1974) NANAIMO HAREWOOD NORTHFIELD WELLINGTON DEPARTURE BAY MOUNTAIN PETROGLYPH 36.4 36.4 36.4 36.4 36.4 36.4 36.4 R e g i o n a l D i s t . H o s p i t a l 8.99 9.92 •9.93 9.93 9.95 5.0 7.88 G e n e r a l Improvement D i s t r i c t 33.4 (6.67, 10.0 debt) R e g i o n a l L i b r a r y 1.1 3.5 1.0 10.0 10.0 $12.00 ( f l a t r a t e ) 3.9 1.0 1.0 10.0 7.5 1.0 10.0 4.3 1.0 10.0 4.6 1.0 P a r k s / R e c r e a t i o n 7.6 1.0 1.0 Sewer Garbage* Water Average 7.6 9.00 + $60.00,; .6.00 + 36.00 ( f l a t r a t e ) 3 6 : 0 0 . f l a t r a t e f l a t r a t e $21.00 $18.00 $19.80 $24.00 $48.00 $76.00 $50.00 $60.00 7.00 + 29.00 f l a t r a t e 24. 00 $60.00 $24.00 $24.00 $80. 00 source: r e s t r u c t u r e committee r e p o r t * some areas have weekly p i c k up w h i l e o t h e r s have b i - w e e k l y p i c k - u p . 94: . p r o v i d i n g goods and s e r v i c e s used by neighbouring l o c a l u n i t s who do not f a i r l y c o n t r i b u t e towards paying f o r such s e r v i c e s . In Greater Nanaimo imbalance between c i t i z e n s paying f o r s e r v i c e s and those b e n e f i t i n g from them p r o v i d e d c o n s i d e r a b l e impetus f o r a r e s t r u c t u r e examination. The qu e s t i o n o f 'suburban e x p l o i t a t i o n ' was put to the c o u n c i l members by the author and a l l c o u n c i l members agreed ( i n d i f f e r i n g degrees of passion) t h a t the o l d c i t y p r o v i d e d s e r v i c e s to Greater Nanaimo but were payed f o r by C i t y r e s i d e n t s o n l y . The f o l l o w i n g i s a d i s c u s s i o n o f the most important i s s u e s . Some were uncovered through the author's i n v e s t i g a t i o n w h i l e others were sparked by members o f the c i t y c o u n c i l . 1. R e c r e a t i o n Parks and r e c r e a t i o n was the f a c i l i t y most commonly expressed by the c i t y c o u n c i l as the s e r v i c e most b l a t e n t l y e x p l o i t e d by p e r i p h e r a l r e s i d e n t s . The o l d c i t y was the only p o l i t i c a l u n i t which adm i n i s t e r e d a comprehensive r e c r e a t i o n and parks program. Table IV shows t h a t the c i t y ' s per c a p i t a c o s t s f o r parks and r e c r e a t i o n and c u l t u r a l f a c i l i t i e s was $37.00, $33.00 of which was a p p l i e d t o parks and r e c r e a t i o n . The per c a p i t a r e c r e a t i o n and park f u n c t i o n was h i g h e r than a l l o t h e r f u n c t i o n s p r o v i d e d by the c i t y w i t h the e x c e p t i o n of s t r e e t s . Harewood and Departure Bay were the onl y improvement d i s t r i c t s to p r o v i d e a parks TABLE XI-PER CAPITA OPERATING S CAPITAL EXPENDITURES OF MAJOR SERVICES 1 (1973) T e r r i t o r y PARKS/REC STREET STREET CONST.3 HEALTH/ DEBT Pop u l a t i o n WATER WORKS GARBAGE SEWER FIRE CULTURAL LIGHTING MAINTENANCE POLICE WELFARE CHARGES Nanaimo C i t y (15,000) Harewood (5,000) N o r t h f i e l d (4,500). Departure Bay (4,000) W e l l i n g t o n •(5,100) Petroglyph (1,300) .'. Mountain (600) $28.00 24.40 15.70 28.60 25.40 32. 00 $ 8.70 23.80' 4.60 9.20 6.10 $10.39 $20.40 31.40 3.81 $32.70 R. $3.50 3.00 C. 3.40 8.00 18.60 19.40 3.40 14.60 7.00 7. 10 6.81 .30 2.30 2.40 2.00 3.30 1.60 2.80 sc h o o l , r e g i o n a l h o s p i t a l , l i b r a r y , r e g i o n a l d i s t r i c t , ambulance, r e c r e a t i o n complex are taxed on a uniform b a s i s . Harewood's per c a p i t a cost f o r garbage appears e x c e s s i v e as i t operates i t s own garbage s e r v i c e and c o n t r a c t s out to many of the improvment d i s t r i c t s and the C i t y . S t r e e t c o n s t r u c t i o n and maintenance does not i n c l u d e g e n e r a l expenditures f o r p r i v a t e c u l v o r t i n g and storm d r a i n , parking ( i . e . meter maintenance) and c a p i t a l expenditures f o r o f f s t r e e t parking and l o c a l improvment by-laws. $39.00 $28.40 $16.80 $33.00 21.40 4.60 12.0 13.80 7,80 f a l l under the p r o v i n c i a l government's 10 m i l l g e n e r a l l e v y f o r non-municipal areas-. f u n c t i o n . They spent $3.40 and $3.30 per c a p i t a r e s p e c t i v e l y on parks and park programs i n 19 73. W e l l i n g t o n , P e t r o g l y p h , N o r t h f i e l d and Mountain p r o v i d e d no parks. The l a r g e d i f f e r e n c e s i n per c a p i t a expenditures corresponds d i r e c t l y t o the q u a l i t y of r e c r e a t i o n f a c i l i t i e s . A 19 72 study commissioned by the Regional D i s t r i c t which looked i n t o l e i s u r e p a t t e r n s f o r the area and assessed the p r e s e n t and f u t u r e l e v e l s of demand f o r r e c r e a t i o n s e r v i c e s found t h a t a l l improvement d i s t r i c t s were d e f i c i e n t i n a t l e a s t some f a c i l i t i e s f o r outdoor r e c r e a t i o n a c c o r d i n g to standards adhered t o by the O n t a r i o R e c r e a t i o n Standards and the U.S. Bureau of Outdoor R e c r e a t i o n . The C i t y was found to be w e l l above the recommended standards f o r i t s p o p u l a t i o n composition.^ A c o l l a t i o n of r e g i s t r a t i o n s f o r the c i t y parks and r e c r e a t i o n programs v e r i f i e s the use of c i t y f a c i l i t i e s by o u t s i d e r e s i d e n t s . In 19 70 - 19 71, r e g i s t r a t i o n f o r a l l programs showed t h a t 1351 were c i t y r e g i s t r a t i o n and 1702 were d i s t r i c t r e s i d e n t s . In 1974, summer swim r e g i s t r a t i o n s t o t a l l e d 2,300 persons, 40% were from the o l d c i t y and 60% 9 were from the o u t s i d e areas. I I . T a x a t i o n - m i l l r a t e In the author's o p i n i o n the b i g g e s t ' e x p l o i t a t i o n ' o r more c o r r e c t l y , u n f a i r n e s s was t a x a t i o n . Table IV .97 . i l l u s t r a t e s t h a t the combined h e a l t h and w e l f a r e c o s t s * per c a p i t a f o r the c i t y i n 19 73 were $16.80 or 7.3 m i l l s . The p e r i p h e r a l improvement d i s t r i c t s were completely f r e e of t h i s c o s t . I n d i r e c t l y they (the unorganized areas) payed a 10 m i l l g e n e r a l l e v y , taxed by the p r o v i n c i a l government to a l l non-municipal areas i n the p r o v i n c e . In a d d i t i o n t o h e a l t h and w e l f a r e , p o l i c i n g and road and s t r e e t work were s u p p l i e d by the p r o v i n c i a l government under the aegis of the 10 m i l l g e n e r a l l e v y . The 10 m i l l l e v y i s l e g i s l a t e d under the T a x a t i o n A c t . ^ The l e v y has remained a t 10 m i l l s f o r over one-half a century, d e s p i t e the s i g n i f i c a n t i n c r e a s e s i n the c o s t of d e l i v e r y i n g these s e r v i c e s to the p u b l i c . For example, i n 19 73 p o l i c i n g c o s t s f o r the c i t y were c a l c u l a t e d t o be more than $2 8,00 per c a p i t a (see Table IV) w h i l e road c o n s t r u c t i o n and maintenance generated an expenditure of ** more than $38.00 per c a p i t a . In aggregate, a l l three s e r v i c e s (welfare, p o l i c i n g and roadwork) p l a c e d an expenditure burden on the * In 1973 one m i l l generated $34,363.00 (general levy) i n the c i t y . * The $38.00 per c a p i t a does not r e p r e s e n t a l l t r a n s p o r t a t i o n expenses. I t does not i n c l u d e expenditures f o r a i r t r a n s p o r t , encumbrances, g e n e r a l p a r k i n g (meters, o f f s t r e e t p a r k i n g and commissionaires) and c a p i t a l expenditures f o r storm d r a i n s and o f f s t r e e t p a r k i n g p r o j e c t s . the c i t y i n 1973 of $1,263,066.00 or about 37 m i l l s . I t can be argued of course t h a t the o u t l y i n g areas may not use the s e r v i c e t o the same exte n t as the core c i t y r e s i d e n t s , o r t h a t the q u a l i t y of the s e r v i c e may not be as good i n the unorganized a r e a s , and the d i f -f erence i n the m i l l r a t e simply r e f l e c t s the d i f f e r e n c e i n s e r v i c e q u a l i t y . In some i n s t a n c e s t h i s may be t r u e . For example, j u s t p r i o r to the 1974 amalgamation vote, the R.C.M.P. detachment employed 24 men f o r the C i t y and 17 men f o r the non-municipal areas, now encompassed w i t h i n the new city."'""'" Hence, the p o l i c e c o n t i n g e n t a s s i g n e d t o the non-municipal areas were fewer i n number than the C i t y and p a t r o l l e d a t e r r i t o r y about 10 times as l a r g e as the C i t y w i t h approximately the same p o p u l a t i o n . With w e l f a r e , a 19 70 study i n d i c a t e d t h a t 58% of the s o c i a l w e l f a r e c a s e - l o a d r e s i d e d i n the o l d c i t y * 12 and 42% r e s i d e d i n the non-municipal areas. These f i g u r e s support the common c o n t e n t i o n t h a t more w e l f a r e r e c i p i e n t s l i v e i n the core c i t y but they tend t o c o n t r a d i c t popular o p i n i o n t h a t a l l w e l f a r e r e c i p i e n t s g r a v i t a t e t o the c i t y c e n t r e . * T h i s 40/60 r a t i o between o u t s i d e areas and the c i t y was c o n s i d e r e d normal. P o l i c i n g and w e l f a r e s e r v i c e s do suggest t h a t e i t h e r l e s s use or an i n f e r i o r q u a l i t y of s e r v i c e was b e i n g d e l i v e r e d to the improvement d i s t r i c t s . The s t r e e t f u n c t i o n however was a d i f f e r e n t s t o r y . There were approximately 100 more mil e s of paved road i n the o u t s i d e d i s t r i c t s than the c i t y boundaries which suggests t h a t road c o s t s f o r comparable road s u r f a c e s would be h i g h e r o u t s i d e the c i t y . When comparing the aggregate c o s t o f the t h r e e s e r v i c e s to the improvement d i s t r i c t s i n r e l a t i o n t o the C i t y ' s c o s t , i r r e s p e c t i v e of the d i f f e r e n c e i n q u a l i t y , the 10 m i l l g e n e r a l l e v y to non-municipal areas would appear to be out of l i n e w i t h r e a l i s t i c c o s t s . Before any credence can be given to t h i s a s s e r t i o n a more thorough examination of the c o s t s would be necessary. Chapter VI w i l l examine the s i t u a t i o n more c l o s e l y . I I I . Tax V a l u a t i o n Another s i t u a t i o n where i n e q u i t i e s have h i s t o r i c a l l y been e v i d e n t not o n l y i n the Nanaimo area, but elsewhere i n B r i t i s h Columbia, was p r o p e r t y tax v a l u a t i o n . The i n e q u i t i e s were p a r t i c u l a r l y s i g n i f i c a n t i n Nanaimo however because of the l a r g e p a r t of metro Nanaimo t h a t was j u r i s d i c t i o n a l l y a d m i n i s t r a t e d by the P r o v i n c e but f u n c t i o n a l l y a p a r t of the C i t y . The i n e q u i t i e s have r e s u l t e d from the l a c k of valuators., unable to keep up w i t h a p p r e c i a t i n g p r o p e r t y v a l u e s ; and, a v a r i a t i o n i n assessment r a t e s between m u n i c i p a l and non-100. m u n i c i p a l areas. The l a t t e r d i s c r e p a n c y has r e s u l t e d from there b e i n g m u n i c i p a l a s s e s s o r s f o r m u n i c i p a l j u r i s d i c t i o n s and p r o v i n c i a l a s s e s s o r s f o r non-municipal j u r i s d i c t i o n s . The C i t y ' s p r o p e r t y was assessed a t about 3 8% of a c t u a l value 13 while the o u t l y i n g areas were assessed a t about 30%. Th i s c r e a t e d tax burden i n e q u i t i e s betwen c i t y and p e r i p h e r a l landowners when t a x i n g r e g i o n a l s e r v i c e s a t a uniform m i l l r a t e . ( i . e . most s e r v i c e s s u p p l i e d by the Re g i o n a l D i s t r i c t . ) In time, these i n e q u i t i e s would have been e r a d i c a t e d w i t h u n i f i c a t i o n , however the p r o v i n c i a l government i n 19 74 made changes i n l e g i s l a t i o n and assumed f u l l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r r e a l p r o p e r t y t a x a t i o n . W i t h i n a s h o r t time h o p e f u l l y a l l p r o p e r t i e s w i l l be assessed on a uniform b a s i s , r e g a r d l e s s o f whether the area i s o r g a n i z e d or not. IV. Others Other arguments t h a t were suggested by the members of c o u n c i l t h a t produced an imbalance between the c i t y and o u t l y i n g areas i n paying f o r s e r v i c e s i n c l u d e : (i) promotion, o f the area: The C i t y bore most of the c o s t f o r s p e c i a l r e c r e a t i o n a l events and c e l -e b r a t i o n s and f o r the promotion o f the area to a t t r a c t t r a d e and i n d u s t r y . The promotion d i d not onl y b e n e f i t the c i t y but a l s o s p i l l e d over i n t o the p e r i p h e r a l areas. While the a c t u a l amount per annum spent by the c i t y was i n s i g n i f i c a n t , i t was the p r i n c i p l e o f the matter b e i n g vented. 101. ( i i ) C h a r i t y - The C i t y was i n f l i c t e d w i t h the g r e a t e s t expense of donating to boys c l u b s , s e r v i c e c l u b s , e t c . , r e l a t i v e to the o t h e r o r g a n i z e d d i s t r i c t s . L i k e the promotion argument, the d o l l a r value was minimal, but the d o l l a r amount was not a t i s s u e . I t was the simple f a c t t h a t the C i t y ' s benevolence was b e n e f i t i n g the community at l a r g e . ( i i i ) Water - In 1953 the Greater Nanaimo Water D i s t r i c t was i n c o r p o r a t e d . The prime b e n e f i c i a r y a t the time of i n c o r p o r a t i o n was the C i t y . As a r e s u l t , the terms of the Act c r e a t i n g the water d i s t r i c t s t i p u l a t e d t h a t the c i t y would be r e q u i r e d to pay a p r o p o r t i o n o f a l l water works e x t e n s i o n s . The r a p i d suburban expansion s i n c e 1953 (see Chapter III) has r e s u l t e d i n the admittance o f o u t l y i n g improvement d i s t r i c t s i n t o the Water D i s t r i c t . A p r o p o r t i o n of the ensuing c a p i t a l c o n s t r u c t i o n of water works going i n t o an improvement d i s t r i c t has had to be p a i d f o r by the c i t y even though the c i t y would r e c e i v e no b e n e f i t . In r e c e n t years the p r o p o r t i o n of the c a p i t a l c o s t of water extensions to any improvement d i s t r i c t borne by the c i t y was about 40%. (iv) S t r e e t l i g h t i n g - I t was suggested by one c o u n c i l member t h a t the C i t y pays a d i s p o r p o r t i o n a t e amount f o r s t r e e t l i g h t i n g due to commuters u s i n g the downtown core f o r work and commerce. Table I I i l l u s t r a t e s t h a t the City-had the h i g h e s t per c a p i t a expenditure f o r s t r e e t l i g h t i n g . T h i s a s s e r t i o n however r e s t s on very tenuous grounds. There are numerous f a c t o r s which must be c o n s i d e r e d when a n a l y z i n g s t r e e t l i g h t i n g c o s t s , the most obvious b e i n g commerical and b u s i n e s s revenues generated from commercial p r o p e r t y assessment and annual business l i c e n s e f e e s , not t o mention the f a c t t h a t the s i z e of the commerical and b u s i n e s s base i n the c i t y was dependent upon o u t s i d e trade.. In 19 73 the c i t y r e a l i z e d more revenues from commercial and i n d u s t r i a l p r o p e r t i e s than r e s i d e n t i a l p r o p e r t i e s . Business l i c e n s e s alone y i e l d e d revenues equal to a 3 m i l l g e n e r a l 15 l e v y . Thus without the c o n c e n t r a t i o n of b u s i n e s s a c t i v i t i e s g i v i n g r i s e to the need f o r g r e a t e r s t r e e t l i g h t i n g , these revenues would not be generated. V. An E x p l o i t a t i o n Paradigm A simple but r e a l i s t i c way of i l l u s t r a t i n g and s u p p o r t i n g the t h e s i s t h a t d i s c r e p a n c i e s between the core c i t y and the p e r i p h e r a l area e x i s t e d , i s to look a t the 19 74 p r o p e r t y taxes ( i . e . pre amalgamation) of v a r i o u s p a r c e l s of l a n d both w i t h i n and o u t s i d e the o l d C i t y as p r o p e r t y taxes should r e f l e c t the g e n e r a l l e v e l of s e r v i c e rendered t o the paying p u b l i c . The author a r b i t r a r i l y -s e l e c t e d s i x r e s i d e n t i a l p a r c e l s . The c r i t e r i a f o r s e l e c t i n g i:o:3. the p a r c e l s were: (a): to s e l e c t comparable p r o p e r t i e s i n c l o s e p r o x i m i t y to each other; and (b) to choose p r o p e r t i e s t h a t v i s u a l l y appeared t o have s i m i l a r l a n d and improvement c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . Diagram 1 g i v e s the l o c a t i o n of the r e s i d e n t i a l p r o p e r t i e s chosen. Photographs o f the p r o p e r t i e s are i l l u s t r a t e d on the f o l l o w i n g pages. A l l s i x p a r c e l s were s e r v i c e d w i t h water and sewer, paved s t r e e t s , overhead w i r i n g , open drainage d i t c h e s , no c u r b i n g and no sidewalks. The o n l y r e a l s e r v i c i n g d i f f e r e n c e was f i r e . A l l unorganized areas r e l y upon v o l u n t e e r f i r e departments w h i l e the c i t y m aintained the only f u l l time f i r e f o r c e . Access t o goods and s e r v i c e s l o c a t e d w i t h i n the c i t y o r o u t s i d e were e s s e n t i a l l y i d e n t i c a l by v i r t u e o f the pr o x i m i t y o f the s e l e c t e d p r o p e r t i e s . In other words, the average home owner would l i k e l y p e r c e i v e h i s / h e r a v a i l -a b i l i t y of hardcore s e r v i c e s and access t o commercial and community s e r v i c e s as be i n g i d e n t i c a l , but because o f boundary d e s i g n a t i o n s , p r o p e r t i e s on op p o s i t e s i d e s o f the s t r e e t occupy d i f f e r e n t l o c a l government j u r i s d i c t i o n s . The f o l l o w i n g t a b l e g i v e s the gross taxes. The comparison can only be made between the two contiguous p r o p e r t i e s . U n f o r t u n a t e l y the assessment f i g u r e s o f the comparing p r o p e r t i e s proved d i f f i c u l t as a c r o s s - r e f e r e n c e DIAGRAM I GOVERNMENTAL STRUCTURE COMPARISON ONE 105 COMPARISON TWO 106 Nanaimo Northfield COMPARISON THREE 107. 108. b e c a u s e o f t h e d i s c r e p a n c i e s i n a s s e s s m e n t r a t e s , a p r o b l e m d i s c u s s e d e a r l i e r i n t h i s c h a p t e r . C O M P A R I S O N C I T Y O U T S I D E A R E A I M P R O V E M E N T D I S T R I C T G R O S S T A X E S G R O S S T A X E S I $ 4 1 2 . 3 0 $ 2 6 8 . 5 4 H a r e w o o d I I 6 5 2 . 2 4 3 8 0 . 7 8 N o r t h f i e l d I I I 8 2 1 . 0 4 4 1 0 . 6 7 D e p a r t u r e B a y T h e a u t h o r f u l l y r e a l i z e d t h a t s u c h s i m p l i s t i c a n a l y s i s i s o p e n t o a b a r a g e o f c r i t i c i s m . H o w e v e r t o t h e h o m e b u y e r , t h e c h a r a c t e r o f t h e p u b l i c s e r v i c e s a n d t h e s u r r o u n d i n g e n v i r o n m e n t a n d t h e a c c e s s t o p u b l i c a n d p r i v a t e a m e n i t i e s ( s o c i a l , c o m m e r c i a l , r e c r e a t i o n a l , e t c . ) w o u l d a p p e a r t o b e t h e s a m e . T h e o n l y d i f f e r e n c e , a s i d e f r o m p e r s o n a l a r c h i t e c t u r a l p r e f e r e n c e s o f t h e d w e l l i n g b e i n g t h e t a x i r a t e , w h i c h w a s c o n s i s t a n t l y t w i c e a s h i g h i n t h e c i t y a s o u t s i d e o f i t . C . P L A N N I N G A N D C O - O R D I N A T I O N I N G R E A T E R N A N A I M O C h a p t e r I I I s u g g e s t e d t h a t t h e p a t t e r n o f u r b a n l a n d u s e s i n t h e N a n a i m o a r e a w e r e s o m e w h a t d y s f u n c t i o n a l . I t w a s a s s e r t e d t h a t t h e r e a s o n f o r t h i s s c a t t e r e d p a t t e r n w a s t h e l a c k o f c e n t r a l p l a n n i n g a n d c o - o r d i n a t i n g b o d y . T h e c o n d i t i o n e x i s t i n g b e f o r e r e s t r u c t u r e w a s o n e o f j u r i s d i c t i o n a l d i v i s i v e n e s s d e s p i t e t h e o b v i o u s f u n c t i o n a l c o n g r u i t y b e t w e e n t h e o l d c i t y a n d t h e i m p r o v e m e n t d i s t r i c t s . L a n d u s e r e g u l a t i o n , d e v e l o p m e n t c o n t r o l s , 109. s u b d i v i s i o n b y - l a w s and a p p e a l p r o c e d u r e s d i f f e r e d . T h e r e were two d i f f e r e n t z o n i n g maps. D u a l z o n i n g and s u b -d i v i s i o n p r o c e d u r e s i n e v i t a b l y p r o d u c e s i n c o n s i s t a n c i e s and i r r e g u l a r i t i e s . B e f o r e 19 70 a l l p l a n n i n g f o r t h e o u t s i d e a r e a s was d i r e c t e d f r o m V i c t o r i a u n d e r t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e u m b r e a l l a o f Community P l a n n i n g A r e a #6. Much o f t h e l a n d i n W e l l i n g t o n , M o u n t a i n and N o r t h f i e l d h a d no z o n i n g r e g u l a t i o n s b e f o r e t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n o f t h e R e g i o n a l D i s t r i c t o f Nanaimo. The o l d C i t y a d m i n i s t e r e d i t s own z o n i n g and s u b i d i v i s o n b y - l a w s b u t n o t n e c e s s a r i l y i n harmony w i t h z o n i n g c o n t r o l s i n t h e o u t s i d e a r e a s . I n t h e u n o r g a n i z e d a r e a s t h e c h i e f a p p r o v i n g o f f i c e r f o r s u b d i v i s i o n r e g u l a t i o n i s t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f Highways E n g i n e e r , w i t h t h e R e g i o n a l D i s t r i c t , t h e D i s t r i c t H e a l t h O f f i c e and t h e P o l l u t i o n C o n t r o l B o a r d a l s o r e v i e w i n g t h e l a n d p l a n . I t i s a common and l i k e l y f a i r comment t o make t h a t t h e Highways D e p a r t m e n t i s n o t t h e b e s t a g e n c y f o r s u p e r v i s i n g s u b d i v i s i o n r e g u l a t i o n s as t h e i r m a j o r f o c u s i s r o a d c o n s t r u c t i o n and n o t s u b d i v i s i o n c o n t r o l . The s u b d i v i s i o n f u n c t i o n i s c o n s i d e r e d more o r an a p p u r t e n a n c e t o t h e D e p a r t m e n t ' s main c o n c e r n . A p o p u l a r f o r m o f d e v e l o p m e n t c o n t r o l s i n B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a t o d a y a r e l a n d use c o n t r a c t s . I n a l l n o n - m u n i c i p a l a r e a s a l a n d u s e c o n t r a c t must a f t e r s c r u t i n y by t h e above b o d i e s and p u b l i c h e a r i n g s be s u b m i t t e d t o t h e p r o v i n c i a l 110. cabinet for t h e i r approval. Needless to say, thi s extra paper s h u f f l i n g i s time consuming and very often costly to the developer. While controls are necessary the bureaucratic maze i s excessively cumbersome and the value of the controls i s often l o s t i n the s h u f f l i n g process. A s p e c i f i c question on the eff e c t s of amalgamation on planning was asked of the council members and t h e i r response was predictable. They a l l f e l t that planning was the t a c i t force behind the restructure proposal. With area planning under the auspices of one j u r i s d i c t i o n i t was f e l t that a more comprehensive and r a t i o n a l approach to land use regulation would be established. There was general agreement that the slow and cumbersome bureaucratic process cirvumvented an e f f e c t i v e planning process i n the outside areas. When asked that i f the Regional D i s t r i c t was given greater authority to regulate and administer planning that this would then eliminate many of the problems thus obviating the need for restructure, the patent answer was that the Regional D i s t r i c t encompassed too large an area. They (Regional D i s t r i c t ) were too widely spread out and not ini t i m a t e l y plugged into the l o c a l area scene. Nanaimo was one functional and economic unit and p o l i t i c a l organization of t h i s fact was long overdue. D. SUMMARY This chapter has i d e n t i f i e d many of the perverse 1.1(1. consequences of the p r e v i o u s l o c a l government arrangement. To a l a r g e e x t e n t , reasons f o r amalgamation t h a t have been examined are more advantageous to the o l d c i t y than the o u t l y i n g d i s t r i c t s . In the s h o r t run there i s l i t t l e doubt t h a t the o l d c i t y w i l l r e c e i v e the m a j o r i t y of the b e n e f i t s . But t h i s does not pre-empt the improvement d i s t r i c t s from b e n e f i t i n g from the amalgamation. Improvements i n p l a n n i n g have a l r e a d y been i d e n t i f i e d . The o u t l y i n g d i s t r i c t s and the c i t y w i l l a l s o g a i n from: (a) l a r g e r tax base, the new c i t y would have t o t a l assessments f o r g e n e r a l purposes of $96,524,392. as compared with o n l y $38,69 5,22 3. f o r the o l d c i t y (19 74 assessment r a t e s ) . (b) l a r g e r borrowing powers. The c i t y would now borrow 20% of $96,524,392. r a t h e r than 20% o f $38,693,223. (c) i n c r e a s e d m u n i c i p a l per c a p i t a g r a n t s . An e x t r a 20,000 p o p u l a t i o n w i l l generate approximately a f u r t h e r $6 80,000. f o r the new c i t y . (d) the improvement d i s t r i c t s w i l l s p e c i f i c a l l y b e n e f i t from improved f i r e p r o t e c t i o n s e r v i c e , and the i m p l i c a t i o n o f a dog c o n t r o l program. (e) the improvement d i s t r i c t s w i l l b e n e f i t from the averaging of c o s t s o f c a p i t a l e x p e n d i t u r e s . 112. I t i s s i g n i f i c a n t however t h a t one of the main d r i v e s toward p o l i t i c a l r e s t r u c t u r e c i t e d i n the l i t e r a t u r e i s the savings due to s c a l e economies. In Greater Nanaimo t h i s p a r t i c u l a r r a t i o n a l e was not a b i g f a c t o r . There had a l r e a d y been long e s t a b l i s h e d r e g i o n a l s e r v i c i n g f o r sewer and water. In t h i s i n s t a n c e the l o c a l governments were able t o u n i t e c o - o p e r a t i v e l y f o r t h e i r mutual b e n e f i t . 11.3. 1. For example.^ Port Alberni, 20, 063 pop. , 4560 acres, Cranbrook, 12, 000 pop. , 3, 0181 acres; Penticton, 18,146 pop., 8,558 acres; and Nanaimo, 12, 948 pop. , 2, 369 acres. ( 1971 population stat-istics) 2. Regional D i s t r i c t of Nanaimo. A Study i n L o c a l Government. Nanaimo: A p r i l 19 70, p. 10. 3. Based on p e r s o n a l correspondence betwen Mr. B. MacKay, D i r e c t o r of P l a n n i n g f o r Regional D i s t r i c t of Nanaimo and the author, February 5, 1975. 4. B.C. S t a t u t e s , Greater Nanaimo Sewage and Drainage A c t . 1959, C100, r e p e a l e d 1972, s5, O.C. 5. Based on p e r s o n a l correspondence between Mr. J.H. Thorpe, S e c r e t a r y - T r e a s u r e r s c h o o l d i s t r i c t #6 8 (Nanaimo) January 30, 1975. 6. Regional D i s t r i c t o f Nanaimo. Op. C i t . 7. I b i d . 8. A.V.G. Management L t d . P a t t e r n s of L i v i n g i n the Regional D i s t r i c t of Nanaimo. Vancouver: 19 72. 9. F i g u r e s o b t a i n e d from Nanaimo R e c r e a t i o n Commission, Attendance Reports. 10. B.C. S t a t u t e s . T a x a t i o n A c t . R.S. 1948, C332 s i . 11. Based on p e r s o n a l correspondence w i t h I n s p e c t o r D. Webster, O f f i c e r i n Charge,, Nanaimo, R.C.M.P. Detachment and the author. February 4, 19 75. 12. Regional D i s t r i c t o f Nanaimo. Op. C i t . 13. Statement by Mr. R. Rowledge, C i t y T r e a s u r e r , p e r s o n a l i n t e r v i e w . 14. I b i d . 15. C i t y of Nanaimo. F i n a n c i a l Statement f o r the year ending December 31, 19 74. CHAPTER 5 A. INTRODUCTION The concept of restructuring the p o l i t i c a l geography of Nanaimo was not a new or innovative notion. For well over a decade informal discussions had taken place; notwithstanding the fac t that since the incorporation of the c i t y i n 1874 i t s boundaries had been extended four times, i n 1887, 1927, 1946 and 1952. The 1952 boundary extension nearly doubled the size of the c i t y and increased i t s population base by 3,500 people."'" P r i o r to 1974, metro Nanaimo had already experienced one amalgamation proposal. The f i r s t attempt to recast the p o l i t i c a l structure of the area was made i n 1970. On June 6th, 1970 a p l e b i s c i t e was held asking the electorate to decide the fate of an amalgamated area roughly the same dimensions as the 1974 restructured area. At that time, p r o v i n c i a l l e g i s l a t i o n guiding amalgamation procedure were more stringent than i n 1974. The 1970 vote required an o v e r a l l 60% majority approval. When the b a l l o t s were counted, the approval f e l l shy of the 60% p l u r a l i t y by 31 votes. B. BACKGROUND TO 1970 VOTE The 1970 merger proposal was engineered by the 114. R e g i o n a l D i s t r i c t of Nanaimo. T h e i r background e f f o r t s culminated w i t h the p r o d u c t i o n o f a r e p o r t on the l o c a l government s t r u c t u r e . O s t e n s i b l y the r e p o r t analyzed and e v a l u a t e d the p r o d u c t i v i t y of the v a r i o u s p u b l i c s e r v i c e s then being administered. The r e p o r t took n e a r l y two years to compile. I t was n o t r e l e a s e d f o r p u b l i c review and comment u n t i l A p r i l 24, 1970, j u s t f i v e weeks p r i o r to the referendum. Approximately a week a f t e r the r e p o r t was r e l e a s e d a c i t i z e n s committee composed of 26 prominent Nanaimo c i t i z e n s was e s t a b l i s h e d to promote the m e r i t s of amalgamation. The promotion c o n s i s t e d o f e x t e n s i v e p u b l i c meetings, d i a l o g u e w i t h l o c a l s e r v i c e c l u b s and b u s i n e s s groups and newspaper a d v e r t i s i n g . In the f i n a l a n a l y s i s however, the committee's e f f o r t s proved to be u n s u c e s s f u l . The reasons f o r the f a i l u r e of amalgamation i n 1970 can never be f u l l y accounted f o r . R e a c t i o n and comment i n the l o c a l newspaper i n the weeks f o l l o w i n g the v o t e evoked t h r e e dominant themes which were at l e a s t i n p a r t , i n f l u e n c i n g f a c t o r s t h a t l e d to the d e f e a t of the p r o p o s a l . One c r i t i c i s m was the time g i v e n t o p r e s e n t the f i n d i n g s of the r e p o r t produced by the R e g i o n a l D i s t r i c t . I t was suggested t h a t there was not enough time a l l o t e d to permit thorough p u b l i c d i s c u s s i o n and r e a c t i o n . 116 • With o n l y f o u r to f i v e weeks o f p u b l i c r e l a t i o n s a v a i l a b l e to promote the v i r t u e s of amalgamation there i s p o s s i b l y some credence to t h i s argument. A second, and perhaps most i n f l u e n c i a l f a u l t w i t h the 19 70 amalgamation procedure was t h a t too much was l e f t unanswered; too many f a c t o r s remained u n c e r t a i n . The L o c a l Government Report assessed the d e l i v e r y of s e r v i c e s as they were then being executed and i t suggested t h a t f i r e p r o t e c t i o n , zoning, waste removal, land-use p l a n n i n g , s u b d i v i s i o n c o n t r o l , animal c o n t r o l and parks and r e c r e a t i o n would b e n e f i t from an amalgamated c i t y . The Report however, d i d not a s c e r t a i n , even i n a c u r s o r y way the f i n a n c i a l i m p l i c a t i o n s of r e -s t r u c t u r e , t h a t i s , what the new tax s t r u c t u r e would look l i k e . There was a l s o no r e s o l u t i o n of the changes i n f u n c t i o n and r e s p o n s i b i l i t y . (For example, no r e a l thought had been g i v e n to what would happen to the improvement d i s t r i c t s ' f i r e s t a t i o n s ) . A number of e d i t o r i a l s and l e t t e r s to the e d i t o r expressed t h e i r v e x a t i o n over the leak of c o n c r e t e f a c t and d e t a i l e d i n f o r m a t i o n on amalgamation. A t h i r d o b j e c t i o n a i r e d was t h a t many people wanted each p a r t i c i p a t i n g d i s t r i c t to decide i t s own d e s t i n y . That i s t o say, the aggregate m a j o r i t y vote system should be changed so t h a t the d e c i s i o n to u n i t e w i t h the c i t y would be 117. * made on a d i s t r i c t by d i s t r i c t b a s i s . The d e f e a t of amalgamation i n 1970 however d i d not t o t a l l y discourage s e v e r a l of the more a v i d c i t i z e n s from f o r e s e e i n g the day when merger would become a r e a l i t y . A h e a d l i n e i n the l o c a l newspaper s e v e r a l weeks a f t e r the d e f e a t of amalgamation conveyed t h i s a t t i t u d e . I t read, 3 "Amalgamation i s n ' t Dead, J u s t R e s t i n g A f t e r Setback." C. INTERIM PERIOD - 19 70 - 1974 Between 1970 and 1974 s e v e r a l events o c c u r r e d t h a t deserve comment. These events brought amalgamation i n t o the s p o t l i g h t . I n i t i a l l y t here was a change i n p r o v i n c i a l a d m i n i s t r a t i o n . With the new a d m i n i s t r a t i o n came a mandate f o r change. One of the changes which provoked a g r e a t d e a l o f c o n t r o v e r s y was the 'shot-gun* s t y l e marriage of the communities of Kamloops and Kelowna w i t h t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e o u t l y i n g areas. Regardless of the m e r i t s of the f o r c e d amalgamation the a c t i o n r e c e i v e d h e a d l i n e coverage concerning the heavy handedness of the p r o v i n c i a l government. The government was accused of being t o t a l i t a r i a n , o p p r e s s i v e and * The aggregate system remains i n the s t a t u t e s . As r e c e n t l y as March, 12, 1975 a M.L.A. has made p r e s e n t a t i o n to the L e g i s l a t u r e c a l l i n g f o r a change i n the system i n an e f f o r t to encourage North Vancouver D i s t r i c t and North Vancouver C i t y t o undertake an amalgamation vote. The Vancouver Sun (Vancouver), March 12, 1975, p.12. 118. and a c t i n g out of p o l i t i c a l r e t r i b u t i o n . The d e s i r a b i l i t y or b e n e f i t s d e r i v e d from the a c t i o n was l o s t i n the course o f the p o l i t i c a l commotion. In the f a l l of 1973 amendments t o the M u n i c i p a l Act were i n t r o d u c e d . The amendments changed the r u l e s and procedures f o r amalgamation. The term amalgamation was dropped from the v o c a b u l a r l y of the A c t , presumably because of the bad connotations the word had r e c e i v e d from the Kamloops and Kelowna a f f a i r . The 60% m a j o r i t y vote 4 requirement was lowered t o a simple m a j o r i t y . D. RESTRUCTURE 1974 The f i r s t f o r m a l i z e d attempt at reviewing r e s t r u c t u r e i n Nanaimo was i n i t i a t e d by the P r o v i n c i a l Government. In the f a l l of 1973, the M i n i s t e r of M u n i c i p a l A f f a i r s c a l l e d a meeting of a l l the e l e c t e d r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s i n the g r e a t e r Nanaimo area a t which time he expressed h i s concern over the s t a t e of the government a d m i n i s t r a t i o n . At the meeting he requested t h a t a l l improvement d i s t r i c t s , the c i t y and the r e g i o n a l d i s t r i c t appoint a r e s t r u c t u r e committee t o look i n t o the p r o s p e c t s of-, reforming the l o c a l government o r g a n i z a t i o n ^ a n d c o n s i d e r : ^ (a) c o n s i d e r and recommend boundaries f o r the newly i n c o r p o r a t e d m u n i c i p a l i t y ; (b) c o n s i d e r the tax s t r u c t u r e f o r the new m u n i c i p a l i t y ; 119. (c) c o n s i d e r the d i s p o s i t i o n of a s s e t s and l i a b i l i t i e s o f the presen t u n i t s ; (d) c o n s i d e r the s e r v i c i n g p o l i c y ; (e) c o n s i d e r the revenues and expenditures; (f) c o n s i d e r the s t r u c t u r e of c o u n c i l ; (g) c o n s i d e r other matters as may be r e f e r r e d to by the M i n i s t e r . To look at these o b j e c t i v e s f u l l y , an e x e c u t i v e or 'main committee' and f o u r sub-committees were formed. The sub-committees i n c l u d e d : (i) budget and t a x a t i o n ; ( i i ) c o u n c i l s t r u c t u r e ; ( i i i ) u t i l i t i e s and s e r v i c e and (iv) f i r e p r o t e c t i o n . The chairman of the r e s t r u c u t r e committee was a Mr. Rod Glen, who had had long s t a n d i n g s e r v i c e as a t r u s t e e o f Harewood and who had p l a y e d a prominent r o l e i n the 1970 r e s t r u c t u r e a c t i v i t i e s . The oth e r members were e l e c t e d t r u s t e e s , c o u n c i l members or board members from every government j u r i s d i c t i o n i n m e t r o p o l i t a n Nanaimo. I t would be inadequate to say anything l e s s than a gr e a t d e a l of e f f o r t and energy went i n t o the d e l i b e r a t i o n s and recommendations of the r e s t r u c t u r e committees. A s i x i n c h compendium of the minutes of the v a r i o u s committee meetings now s i t s on a s h e l f i n the Regiona l D i s t r i c t of Nanaimo*s l i b r a r y i n r e c o g n i t i o n of t h e i r e f f o r t s . Between January and September, 1974 the committees 120, met independantly, as a whole, and w i t h r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s of the p r o v i n c i a l government. The f i n a l r e p o r t was p r i n t e d i n October, 1974, t h e i r recommendations having r e c e i v e d the support of the p r o v i n c i a l government. The major recommendations i n c l u d e d : (a) the e l e c t i o n of alderman by a ward system and the e l e c t i o n of the mayor a t l a r g e ; (b) a l l f i r e and water d i s t r i c t s would be d i s s o l v e d w i t h i n s i x months of the date of i n c o r p o r a t i o n ; (c) a l l a s s e t s (and l i a b i l i t i e s ) would be t r a n s f e r r e d t o the new m u n i c i p a l i t y ; (d) the Greater Nanaimo Water D i s t r i c t would continue t o f u n c t i o n , ad i n t e r i m , u n t i l the new m u n i c i p a l i t y decides whether the Greater Nanaimo Water D i s t r i c t should r e t a i n c o n t r o l or whether the new c i t y or the r e g i o n a l d i s t r i c t s hould assume the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n . (e) w i t h i n a reasonable time p e r i o d , e q u a l i z e the d i f f e r e n c e s i n water r a t e s ; (f) improve the r a t i o o f p o l i c e t o p o p u l a t i o n , and make i t uniform throughout the area; (g) i n t e g r a t e the f i r e s e r v i c e s , p l a c e a l i m i t e d number of p a i d p e r s o n n e l i n a l l s a t e l l i t e f i r e h a l l s ; (h) c r e a t e three t a x a t i o n c a t e g o r i e s , urban, suburban and farm. These c a t e g o r i e s should r e l a t e t o the l e v e l of s e r v i c e s t h a t are a v a i l a b l e . 121. E. PROVINCIAL CONTRIBUTION Compared wit h the 19 70 amalgamation p r o p o s a l the p r o v i n c i a l government c o n t r i b u t e d i n a much more s u b s t a n t i a l manner. In 19 70 the p r o v i n c e promised a lump sum o f $920,000.00. In 1974 the p r o v i n c i a l government pledged: (a) $4.7 m i l l i o n i n g r a n t s ; (b) a c o n t i n u a t i o n of f u l l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r road maintenance and c o n s t r u c t i o n i n the o u t l y i n g areas f o r f i v e y e a r s ; (c) a c o n t i n u a t i o n f o r f i v e years of f i n a n c i a l support f o r p o l i c i n g c o s t s a t t r i b u t e d to the o u t l y i n g areas. A p r e l i m i n a r y budget was drawn up, based on the recommendations of the v a r i o u s committees. Based on a m i l l r a t e s t r u c t u r e f o r 19 75 was submitted. The breakdown was: (i) urban r a t e : 40 m i l l s - c o n s i s t i n g o f * P r o v i n c i a l c o n t r i b u t i o n to Kamloops, Kelowna and P r i n c e George (which r e c e i v e d a f a v o u r a b l e r e s t r u c t u r e vote a t the same time as Nanaimo) were: Grants o f $5,515,000. to Kamloops; $4,315,000. t o Kelowna and $5,174,684. to P r i n c e George. Road C o n s t r u c t i o n and maintenance and p o l i c i n g r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r 3 years f o l l o w e d by an on-going p r o v i n c i a l / m u n i c i p a l s t r e e t and maintenance program and p o l i c i n g a s s i s t a n c e based on an u r b a n / r u r a l d i v i s i o n of the m u n i c i p a l i t y f o r Kamloops and Kelowna. P r i n c e George w i l l r e c e i v e the same p r o v i n c i a l c o n t r i b u t i o n f o r p o l i c i n g and s t r e e t s as Nanaimo. source: a r e p l y by the Hon. J.G. Lorimer, from a q u e s t i o n by MR. H. C u r t i s , Rules and Procedures of the B r i t i s h Columbia L e g i s l a t i v e Assembly, No. 36, A p r i l 7, 1975. 122. o l d c i t y and a l l i n d u s t r i a l and commercial p r o p e r t i e s ; ( i i ) suburban r a t e : 15 m i l l s - c o n s i s t i n g of a l l areas o u t s i d e the c i t y except farms; ( i i i ) farm r a t e : 5 m i l l s . In a r r i v i n g a t the m i l l r a t e s t r u c t u r e some a d d i t i o n a l expenditures c o n s i d e r e d e s s e n t i a l were added i n t o the c a l c u l a t i o n s . These i n c l u d e d $500,000. f o r p a i d firemen i n s a t e l l i t e f i r e h a l l s ; $70,000. p r i n c i p a l and i n t e r e s t f o r a new branch l i b r a r y ( f i n a n c e d over 20 y e a r s ) ; $100,000. p r i n c i p a l and i n t e r e s t f o r r e c r e a t i o n f a c i l i t i e s ( f i n a n c e d over 20 y e a r s ) ; $6 3,000. f o r a dog c o n t r o l program and $600,000. f o r major p u b l i c works. The t e n t a t i v e m i l l r a t e s t r u c t u r e f o r the f i r s t year of o p e r a t i o n s o f 40:15:5 i n d i c a t e d t h a t a decrease of about 9 m i l l s would be enjoyed by the o l d c i t y . The o u t l y i n g areas would remain approximately equal to the p r e v i o u s y e a r . Thus when the r e s t r u c t u r e committee presented t h e i r f i n a l r e p o r t to the p u b l i c they c o u l d h o n e s t l y s t a t e t h a t r e s t r u c t u r e posed no s e r i o u s t h r e a t to p r o p e r t y tax e s c a l a t i o n s . I t was r e c o g n i z e d t h a t a number o f c a p i t a l expen-d i t u r e s would be r e q u i r e d to accomodate the g r e a t e r volume of people b e i n g managed under one j u r i s d i c t i o n . T h e r e f o r e some of the $4.7 m i l l i o n p r o v i n c i a l grant would be spent immediately on programs such as updating f i r e equipment, a d d i t i o n s to C i t y H a l l , a d d i t i o n s to the p o l i c e s t a t i o n , purchase of more garbage t r u c k s and a dog c o n t r o l s h e l t e r . These c o s t s were estimated a t $1.06 m i l l i o n . T h i s t e n t a t i v e l y l e f t about $3.1 m i l l i o n of the $4.7 m i l l i o n p r o v i n c i a l grant i n a reserve fund to d e f r a y the e x t r a c o s t s t h a t would be i n c u r r e d i n f i v e years time when the c i t y would assume f u l l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r the roads and p o l i c i n g f u n c t i o n . As the r e a l i t i e s o f the new c i t y u n f o l d , and a complete budget f o r 19 75 i s drawn up, c i t y c o u n c i l i s f i n d i n g i t d i f f i c u l t to stay w i t h i n the p r e l i m i n a r y budget g u i d e l i n e s p r e s c r i b e d by the r e s t r u c t u r e committee. I t i s l i k e l y t h a t the m i l l r a t e w i l l be s l i g h t l y h i g h e r than the p r e l i m i n a r y estimate had i n d i c a t e d . Many of these c o s t s have been caused by u n a n t i c i p a t e d i n c r e a s e s i n b a s i c a d m i n i s t r a t i o n and l a b o u r . For example a new s a l a r y c o n t r a c t w i t h the c i v i c workers has c o s t roughly an e x t r a one m i l l i o n * d o l l a r s , equal to about 9 m i l l s i n the new c i t y . I t i s a l s o r e c o g n i z e d t h a t the e s timated c a p i t a l e xpenditures w i l l consume more of the p r o v i n c i a l grant than o r i g i n a l l y planned, hence, red u c i n g the r e s e r v e fund. * For 19 75, 1 m i l l under the r e s t r u c t u r e d c i t y w i l l r e t u r n about $110,000. to the C i t y . 124. F. RESTRUCTURE OBSERVATIONS The arguments t h a t were advanced i n the 1974 campaign were much the same as i n 1970. In 1974 however, the f a c t s had been gathered. There was a much s u p e r i o r l e v e l of preparedness. The major theme put f o r t h by the proponents of r e s t r u c t u r e was the need f o r b e t t e r p l a n n i n g . Quoted i n the l o c a l newspaper, the Hon. Mr. J . Lorimer, the M i n i s t e r 7 of M u n i c i p a l A f f a i r s emphasized t h i s theme. "To prevent urban sprawl and to stop i l l o g i c a l p l a n n i n g i n areas adjacent to the c i t y some form of c e n t r a l i z e d c o n t r o l i n p l a n n i n g i s necessary. Under a union or meld of the p r e s e n t c i t y of Nanaimo and the adjacent s e t t l e d areas, such c o n t r o l s are p o s s i b l e and the e n t i r e area can be geared toward i t s f u t u r e i n a s y s t e m a t i c s e n s i b l e manner, r a t h e r than a haphazard one. An e d i t o r i a l i n the same paper r e i t e r a t e d the M i n i s t e r ' s • ^ 8 m o t i f . " I t i s hoped f o r one reason alone - p l a n n i n g -t h a t the amalgamation i s approved - so the area can develop s e n s i b l y and p u r p o s e f u l l y on a s i n g l e c i t y b a s i s r a t h e r than w i t h a v a r i e t y of u n r e l a t e d and uncoordinated p l a n s which h i n d e r r a t h e r than help the f u t u r e of the area." While the major theme of the Nanaimo r e s t r u c t u r e was p l a n n i n g , other important i s s u e s were r a i s e d . One very important i s s u e was e q u a l i z a t i o n . 1 2 S a. One of the primary o b j e c t i v e s of amalgamation was to e q u a l i z e s e r v i c e l e v e l s throughout the urban p o r t i o n of the new c i t y . Concomitant wi t h the s t a n d a r d i z a t i o n of s e r v i c e s would be an e q u a l i z a t i o n of the urban and suburban m i l l r a t e s . . Hence the gap between the 40 m i l l urban r a t e and the 15 m i l l suburban m i l l r a t e proposed by the r e -s t r u c u t r e committee w i l l be reduced u l t i m a t e l y to a uniform r a t e . T h i s i s the o n l y p r a c t i c a l way of e n s u r i n g t h a t the f i n a n c i a l burdens of the c i t y w i l l be d i s t r i b u t e d e q u i t a b l y . Other more t r a d i t i o n a l b e n e f i t s were advanced such as a g r e a t e r tax base, g r e a t e r borrowing c a p a c i t y , more government t r a n s f e r s , and so f o r t h . The most pronounced o b j e c t i o n s c o u l d be c a t e g o r i z e d i n t o two g e n e r a l s u b j e c t areas: (a) a s e l f - i n t e r e s t a t t i t u d e (b) f e a r of h i g h e r taxes S e v e r a l l e t t e r s t o the e d i t o r t y p i f y the former category. Statements such as " t h i n g s c o u l d get along w e l l without amalgamation, as they are now", and " a l l b e n e f i t s w i l l go to the c i t y , we ( o u t l y i n g improvement d i s t r i c t s ) w i l l get n o t h i n g " , expressed the b a s i c theme of t h i s obj e c t i o n . Taxes, an important i s s u e to the homeowner, p r o v i d e d the most p e r s u a s i v e and c o n v i n c i n g argument a g a i n s t 1 2 5 b . r e s t r u c t u r e . The f e a r of h i g h e r taxes was an unanimous c o n c l u s i o n reached by the nine c o u n c i l members when asked why there was such a h i g h p r o p o r t i o n of n e g a t i v e v o t e s . The o b j e c t o r ' s c l a i m s , t h a t taxes would e s c a l a t e , were made ever more c r e d i b l e w i t h r e p o r t s emenating from Kamloops and Kelowna j u s t weeks p r i o r to the vote, t h a t they were aski n g the p r o v i n c i a l government f o r an i n t e r e s t f r e e $12 m i l l i o n d o l l a r loan to h e l p d e f r a y the c o s t s of t h e i r 9 f o r c e d amalgamation. I t i s perhaps a l e s s o n i n human behaviour t h a t h i g h e r taxes was given as the main reason f o r the s t r o n g n e g a t i v e vote i r r e s p e c t i v e of the r e s t r u c t u r e committee's p r e l i m i n a r y budget which i n d i c a t e d l i t t l e o r no change i n the tax s t r u c t u r e . People r e a c t w i t h n a t u r a l r e s e r v a t i o n toward p o l i t i c a l a s s e r t i o n . T h i s b e h a v i o r a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c was t y p i f i e d by a l e t t e r to the e d i t o r which read."^ "...no one can convince me i r r e s p e c t i v e o f a l l tempting c a r r o t s dangled i n f r o n t of the populace t h a t our taxes w i l l be lowered, o t h e r than f o r a s h o r t time." P u b l i c l y , there was l i t t l e v i s u a l evidence of p u b l i c a v e r s i o n or apprehension about r e s t r u c t u r e stemming from the l e s s t a n g i b l e t h i n g s such as l o s s of i d e n t i t y or l o s s of l i f e s t y l e , although p o l i t i c a l and h i s t o r i c d i v i s i o n s were pr e s e n t . Without more thorough i n v e s t i g a t i o n i t can o n l y be concluded t h a t e i t h e r they were not a f a c t o r , or, more l o g i c a l l y , these types o f f a c t o r s are more p e r s o n a l hence u n l i k e l y t o e n t e r I n t o the mainstream o f d i s c u s s i o n . 12.'6 . The Mayor however, spoke out p u b l i c l y on the necessi ty of r e t a i n i n g the o l d c i t y ' s her i tage . He was quoted i n the l o c a l newspaper f i v e days before the res t ructure vote as t e l l i n g c i t y c o u n c i l that "he was concerned that the C i t y of Nanaimo r e t a i n i t s one hundred year h i s t o r y . " ' ~ One facet of the p r e - e l e c t i o n a c t i v i t i e s that sparked considerable p u b l i c d i s u c s s i o n was the ward system. The res t ructure committee recommended that the aldermen should be e lec ted by ward rather than at l a r g e . I t was f e l t that a ward system would ' s o f t e n ' the impact of the changed p o l i t i c a l s t r u c t u r e . I t was a l l e g e d that a ward system was e s s e n t i a l to ensure that c o u n c i l members were knowledgeable of the s p e c i a l i d i o s y n c r a c i e s of each ward. A l l but one c o u n c i l member were i n fav our of a b o l i s h i n g the ward system. They f e l t i t was apt to lend i t s e l f too r e a d i l y to p a r o c h i a l i s m , when the objec t ive of restructure was to unite the area under one corporate s e a l . The c o u n c i l consis ts of a mayor and 8 aldermen; three e lec ted from the o l d c i t y and f i v e e lec ted from wards which roughly corresponded to the boundaries of the o l d improvement d i s t r i c t s . In accordance with the recommendations of the res t ructure committee, p r o v i s i o n was made f o r the conducting of a referendum, (within two years of the date of incorporation) to determine whether or not the re tent ion of the ward system was d e s i r a b l e . If the c o u n c i l member's 127. o p i n i o n s are r e p r e s e n t a t i v e i t would appear t h a t f u t u r e m u n i c i p a l e l e c t i o n s w i l l be c a r r i e d out on an area wide b a s i s . Reviewing the l o c a l newspaper, one very important o b s e r v a t i o n was the number of e d i t o r i a l s and l e t t e r s to the e d i t o r t h a t expressed the concern over the l a c k of i n f o r m a t i o n disseminated to the p u b l i c . A c a l l came from v a r i o u s c i t i z e n s headed by the mayor, f o r the p r o v i n c i a l government to postpone-.: the referendum date to a l l o w f o r b e t t e r p u b l i c d i a l o g u e and r e a c t i o n to the r e s t r u c t u r e committee's f i n a l r e p o r t . The p r o v i n c i a l government however d i d not c a p i t u l a t e on the November 2nd referendum * date. Although p u b l i c meetings were h e l d , attendance, press coverage and propaganda i n the l o c a l newspaper was d i s c e r n a b l y l e s s than i n the 19 70 campaign. T h i s surmise was c o n v i n c i n g l y i l l u s t r a t e d w i t h the low v o t e r turnout (37.9%) and the marginal m a j o r i t y v o t e . Compared wit h the 19 70 campaign there was 12% l e s s t u r n o u t and i r o n i c a l l y an *For example, the f i n a l l a r g e p u b l i c meeting w i t h r e p r e s e n t a t i v e from both the p r o v i n c i a l government and the r e s t r u c t u r e committee f a i l e d t o a t t r a c t even 100 people. See Nanaimo D a i l y Free P r e s s , October 26, 1974 128. 8% drop i n popular a p p r o v a l . A breakdown of the v o t i n g behaviour i s as f o l l o w s : % IN FAVOUR % IN FAVOUR % OF TOTAL AMAL-DISTRICT 1974 1970 GAMAGED POPULATION Advance p o l l 52 5 8 C i t y of Nanaimo 87 82 43 Harewood 51 60 14 N o r t h f i e l d 39 42 12 Departure Bay 39 41 11 W e l l i n g t o n 25 31 14 Pe t r o g l y p h 29 2 4 4 Mountain 37 29 2 Average: 52.1% 59.6% 100% P a r t i c i p a t i o n r a t e : 37.9% 49.9% source: r e t u r n i n g o f f i c e r The p a r t i c i p a t i o n r a t e s t a t i s t i c i s s i g n i f i c a n t . I t i s importnat t o note t h a t such a l a r g e segment o f the v o t i n g populace d i d not c a s t t h e i r b a l l o t when the outcome co u l d have had a s i g n i f i c a n t impact on t h e i r community. T h i s l a c k of m o t i v a t i o n among v o t e r s would appear t o be, a t l e a s t i n p a r t , due to the l a c k o f p u b l i c awareness and understanding of the r e s t r u c t u r e p r o c e s s . There was d i s c e r n a b l y l e s s p u b l i c r e l a t i o n s e f f o r t i n 1974 i n comparison.: to 1970. In both r e s t r u c t u r e b i d s e d i t o r i a l support was g i v e n by the l o c a l newspaper. There was however more newspaper a r t i c l e s d i s c u s s i n g the merger and p u b l i c l y announced support by community groups i n 1970, than i n 1974. For example on June 3rd, and 5th, 1970 f u l l page ads s u p p o r t i n g the merger were i n s e r t e d i n t o the l o c a l newspaper and p a i d f o r by the C i t i z e n s Committee.: In 1974 the same promotion and c i t i z e n p a r t i c i p a t i o n was not e v i d e n t . The a s s e r t i o n t h a t the r e d u c t i o n i n the popu l a r support i n 1974 was due i n p a r t to the l a c k of good i n f o r m a t i o n dissemenation and open support by community groups and prominent c i t i z e n s i s i n keeping w i t h the 11 12 c o n c l u s i o n s of Hawley and Zimmer, Hawkins, and 13 S c h a f f e r , r e f e r r e d to i n Chapter 2. They claimed t h a t a g e n e r a l l a c k of knowledge and l a c k of open p u b l i c support by l o c a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s and prominent i n d i v i d u a l s was a fundamental f a c t o r i n the f a i l i n g s o f government r e s t r u c t u r e p r o p o s a l s . I r r e s p e c t i v e of the reasons claimed to i n h i b i t merger attempts the November 2nd, 1974 vote d i d r e c e i v e the r e q u i r e d 50% m a j o r i t y and a new e n l a r g e d C i t y of Nanaimo was born. -13D. 1. The D a i l y C o l o n i s t ( V i c t o r i a ) , June 6, 1970, p. 20. 2. Regional D i s t r i c t o f Nanaimo. A Study i n L o c a l Government. Nanaimo: A p r i l , 19 70. 3. The Nanaimo D a i l y Free Press (Nanaimo) June 29, 19 70. 4. An A c t to Amend the M u n i c i p a l A c t . Chap. 70, 19 73. 5. F i n a l Report of the Nanaimo R e s t r u c t u r e Committee. October, 19 74, p.1. 6. I b i d , p. 5. 7. The Nanaimo D a i l y Free Press (Nanaimo) October 24, 1974, 8. E d i t o r i a l , The Nanimo D a i l y Free Press (Nanaimo) October.24, 19 74, p. 4. 9. Vancouver Sun (Vancouver) October 7, 19 74. 10. Our Reader W r i t e s , The Nanaimo D a i l y Free Press,(Nanaimo) October 17, 19 74, p.5. 11. The Nanaimo D a i l y Free Press (Nanaimo), October 29, 1974, p. 9. CHAPTER 6 A. INTRODUCTION The a f f i r m a t i v e vote on November 2nd, 197 4 was, from a pragmatic viewpoint, a s e n s i b l e course of a c t i o n . The r e a l i z a t i o n of a c o h e s i v e , homogeneous u n i t w i l l go a long way t o improving the o r g a n i z a t i o n c l i m a t e of the area. A l a n A l t s h u l e r , ^ i n h i s book, "The C i t y P l a n n i n g Process: A P o l i t i c a l A n a l y s i s " , s t a t e s : The primary purpose of a government should be to p r o v i d e an ordered framework i n which c i v i l i z a t i o n can prosper. I t i s apparent t h a t r e s t r u c t u r e w i l l a t l e a s t i n p a r t , c r e a t e a more o r d e r l y government i n which the c i t i z e n s w i l l b e n e f i t and p r o s p e r . R e s t r u c u t r e w i l l a f f o r d the o p p o r t u n i t y to improve the d e l i v e r y of s e r v i c e s , m i t i g a t e i n e q u i t i e s i n s e r v i c e l e v e l s and r e s o l v e many of the l a n d use i r r e g u l a r i t i e s . The p r e v i o u s m u l t i p l i c i t y of c o n t r o l and r e s p o n s i b i l i t y was untenable. I t would appear from the author's vantage p o i n t , t h a t r e s t r u c t u r e w i l l improve the performance of l o c a l government i n the Nanaimo area. R e s t r u c t u r e however i s not a panacea. R e s t r u c t u r e cannot be i n t e r p r e t e d as an automatic or guaranteed r e s o l u t i o n of problems and c o n f l i c t . The t r a n s f o r m a t i o n 131. 132. w i l l be d i f f i c u l t , f i l l e d w i t h a n x i e t y f o r both the p u b l i c and c i t y c o u n c i l and q u i t e l i k e l y more c o s t l y than the r e s t r u c t u r e committee had p r o j e c t e d . C i t y c o u n c i l w i l l be fa c e d w i t h many very s e n s i t i v e and p o l i t i c a l l y d i f f i c u l t d e c i s i o n s . T h e i r most d i f f i c u l t task w i l l be r e c o n c i l i n g any l a r g e s c a l e c o s t i n c r e a s e s w i t h the p u b l i c , p a r t i c u l a r l y (as Chapter 5 has shown) because of the overwhelming r e j e c t i o n o f r e s t r u c t u r e by the improve-ment d i s t r i c t s . Many of the c a p i t a l c o s t estimates by the r e -s t r u c t u r e committee (such as a d d i t i o n s to the p o l i c e s t a t i o n , 2 c i t y h a l l and updating f i r e equipment) w i l l l i k e l y be low as a consequence of c u r r e n t e s c a l a t i o n s i n m a t e r i a l and labour c o s t s . The same can be s a i d f o r g e n e r a l c i t y h a l l a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , p a r t i c u l a r l y s a l a r i e s f o r c l e r i c a l and t e c h n i c a l s t a f f t h a t the enlar g e d c i t y w i l l r e q u i r e . For example, the new c i t y has a l r e a d y f i l l e d a new c i t y managers p o s i t i o n a t an a d v e r t i s e d annual s a l a r y of between $33,000. and $37,000. A D i r e c t o r of P l a n n i n g was j u s t r e c e n t l y h i r e d a t an a d v e r t i s e d s a l a r y i n excess of $20,000. These two new p o s i t i o n s w i l l n e c e s s i t a t e a d d i t i o n a l support s t a f f . Thus w h i l e one of the a l l e g e d advantages of an amalgamated c i t y i s the a b i l i t y t o h i r e p r o f e s s i o n a l s t a f f , e x p e r t i s e does not come cheaply. 133. I t i s es t i m a t e d t h a t i n 1979, when the p o l i c i n g and road c o n s t r u c t i o n f o r the o u t l y i n g areas becomes the f u l l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of the c i t y , taxpayers w i l l be con-f r o n t e d w i t h e x t r a annual c o s t s o f more than 1.5 m i l l i o n 3 d o l l a r s , (over and above the o l d c i t y ' s e x p e n d i t u r e s f o r these s e r v i c e s ) . T h i s i s the r e s u l t of improving the o u t s i d e area's p o l i c e c o n t i n g e n t t o the standard o f the o l d c i t y and improving the r a t i o of p o l i c e t o pop-u l a t i o n i n g e n e r a l ; and the e x t r a c o s t s a t t r i b u t e d t o the c o n s t r u c t i o n and maintenance of the s t r e e t system which w i l l i n c l u d e the necessary purchase o f new machinery, workshops and the h i r i n g o f a d d i t i o n a l p e r s o n n e l . I t i s obvious when c o n s i d e r i n g these c o s t s , t h a t the $3.1 m i l l i o n r e s e r v e fund designed t o de f r a y the p o l i c i n g and s t r e e t c o s t s w i l l be q u i c k l y exhausted. In s e v e r a l areas there i s an immediate need f o r sewer and/or water s e r v i c e s ( p a r t i c u l a r l y P e t r o g l y p h and Wellington) and although the c i t y c o u n c i l has not, as y e t made a d e c i s i o n on how these s e r v i c e s are to be f i n a n c e d the p r e s e n t t h i n k i n g i s t h a t the c o s t s w i l l be averaged 4 throughout a ' b e n e f i t i n g area', (which w i l l be comprised of the m a j o r i t y of the new c i t y ) . C a p i t a l c o n s t r u c t i o n c o s t s to pay f o r these f u t u r e s e r v i c e e xtensions w i l l be an added expense t h a t w i l l be borne by the taxpayer. C i t y c o u n c i l i s a l s o c u r r e n t l y w r e s t l i n g w i t h the 13:4. problem o f s a t e l l i t e f i r e s t a t i o n s . The r e s t r u c t u r e committee recommended a t l e a s t one f u l l time fireman at each o f the f i v e s a t e l l i t e s t a t i o n s . In terms of s a l a r y alone t h i s r e p r e s e n t s : 5 ( s t a t i o n s ) x 4 (men per s t a t i o n manned 24 h r s . per day) x $13,000. (annual s a l a r y ) = $260,000.00 The problem f o r c o u n c i l i n t h i s i n s t a n c e however, i s not so much the c o s t o f f u l l time p e r s o n n e l but r a t h e r the d i f f i c u l t and s e n s i t i v e problem of d e c i d i n g whether to abandon o r r e t a i n the v o l u n t e e r f i r e system. Many of the v o l u n t e e r departments are unhappy w i t h the p r o s p e c t o f be i n g r e l i e v e d of t h e i r duty. Present i n d i c a t i o n s are t h a t , a t l e a s t f o r the near f u t u r e , the v o l u n t e e r f i r e departments i n the s a t e l l i t e areas w i l l c ontinue. E. OBSERVATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND FURTHER RESEARCH Although t h i s d i s s e r t a t i o n s t a t e d a t the o u t s e t t h a t no s p e c i f i c hypotheses was being put f o r t h , the a n a l y s i s has r e v e a l e d s e v e r a l important o b s e r v a t i o n s and c o n c l u s i o n s t h a t deserve f u r t h e r comment and a n a l y s i s . The f i r s t o b s e r v a t i o n i s more p r o p e r l y a c r i t i c i s m . I t stems from the above mentioned s u g g e s t i o n t h a t the o v e r a l l c o s t s of r e - o r g a n i z i n g the government s t r u c t u r e may w e l l be more expensive than had o r i g i n a l l y been p r o j e c t e d and t h a t the p r o v i n c i a l government's commitment of $4.7 m i l l i o n may be i n s u f f i c i e n t . 135. Many of the problems i n h e r i t e d by amalgamation have been c r e a t e d by the p r o v i n c i a l government. The attendent c o s t s (which t r a n s l a t e s i n t o h i g h e r taxes) c o u l d have been a r r e s t e d i f g r e a t e r care was e x e r c i s e d when i n c o r p o r a t i n g non-municipal areas so as not to produce the maze of independent i n c o r p o r a t e d d i s t r i c t s experienced i n g r e a t e r Nanaimo. To be f a i r , e f f o r t s have been made i n recent years t o improve the p r o v i n c i a l government's management i n non-municipal areas by o r g a n i z i n g a l l l o c a l gov-ernment a d m i n i s t r a t i o n under one p r o v i n c i a l department. (see Chapter 2). Furthermore the r e c e n t growth and development .of Regional D i s t r i c t s has g r e a t l y enhanced lan d use p l a n n i n g i n non-municipal areas. N e v e r t h e l e s s , the p r o v i n c i a l government over the years allowed f r a c t i o n a l i z a t i o n t o f l o u r i s h and i f g r e a t e r Nanaimo i s to embark on a reformed p o l i t i c a l a d m i n i s t r a t i o n i t i s the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of the p r o v i n c i a l government to ensure t h a t the new l o c a l a d m i n i s t r a t i o n i s g i v e n ample economic support so t h a t i t i s not e c o n c o m i c a l l y emasculated and c o n t i n u a l l y t r y i n g t o 'catch-up 1. So as not t o p l a c e any e x c e s s i v e or undue burden on the new c i t y , i t i s RECOMMENDED THAT THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT BE PREPARED TO SUPPLEMENT THEIR ASSISTANCE TO THE NEW CITY IF THE COSTS OF RESTRUCTURE BECOME UNMANAGEABLE. Th i s recommendation must be q u a l i f i e d w i t h a s u p p o r t i n g statement on the P r o v i n c i a l Government's c u r r e n t f i n a n c i a l com-mitment. The P r o v i n c e has a l r e a d y agreed to a $4.7 m i l l i o n grant -which was the amount the Nanaimo r e s t r u c t u r e committee estimated 1 3 6 . to be r e q u i r e d . I f t h e i r (the r e s t r u c t u r e committee) c a l c u l a t i o n s are low, and i t i s l i k e l y t h a t they w i l l be, -the Pr o v i n c e would be w e l l advised t o be more c r i t i c a l o f the a u d i t o r y performance of l o c a l r e s t r u c t u r e committees.in any f u t u r e r e s t r u c t u r e p r o p o s a l s . The P r o v i n c e i s not and cannot be a bottomless source of revenue f o r m u n i c i p a l o v e r s i g h t s and mismanagement. A second and most noteworthy o v s e r v a t i o n and recommendation stems from the d i s c u s s i o n o f Chapter 4. I t i s very apparent from the a n a l y s i s i n Chapter 4 t h a t non-municipal areas are e n j o y i n g a tax subsidy c o u r t e s y of the p r o v i n c i a l government. The examination of s e r v i c e s rendered by the p r o v i n c i a l government i l l u s t r a t e s t h a t the 10 m i l l g e n e r a l 5 l e v y imposed under the T a x a t i o n A c t , t o non-municipal areas i s not a f a i r assessment o f the b e n e f i t s r e c e i v e d . The 10 m i l l g e n e r a l l e v y p r o v i d e s f o r p o l i c i n g , h e a l t h and w e l f a r e , road c o n s t r u c t i o n and maintenance s e r v i c e s as w e l l as a host of oth e r a d m i n i s t r a t i v e s e r v i c e s that m u n i c i p a l r e s i d e n t s are o b l i g e d to pay. Chapter 4 i n d i c a t e d t h a t the t h r e e s e r v i c e s mentioned i n the above paragraph amount t o some 35 m i l l s f o r the o l d c i t y . D i s c o u n t i n g per c a p i t a m u n i c i p a l g r a n t s , these t h r e e s e r v i c e s * alone s t i l l amount to 21.5 m i l l s or some 10.5 m i l l s h i g h e r than the g e n e r a l 10 m i l l l e v y , (see below). * per c a p i t a grants f o r the ' o l d c i t y ' i n 1973 were: $479,336.00. $478,336.00 - $34,363 (the amount 1 m i l l generated) = 13.92 m i l l s , 35.43 - 13.92 m i l l s - 21.51 m i l l s 137 • A more a p p r o p r i a t e and ac c u r a t e way to assess the s i t u a t i o n would be to t r y and formulate a m i l l r a t e s t r u c t u r e based on the assessed value of land i n the improvement d i s t r i c t s and the approximate amount t h a t the t h r e e s e r v i c e s c o s t the p r o v i n c i a l government f o r s u p p l y i n g them to the o u t s i d e d i s t r i c t s . Chapter 4 i n d i c a t e d t h a t annual p o l i c i n g c o s t s to the o l d c i t y (1973) were $426,806.00 f o r a 24 man detachment. The number of men assig n e d t o the improvement d i s t r i c t s was 17. T h e r e f o r e i t can be estimated t h a t the approximate c o s t a t t r i b u t e d t o the o u t s i d e areas would have been: 17 /24 x $426,806. = $302,320.91 302,320.91 i t was a l s o i n d i c a t e d i n chapter 4 t h a t the r a t i o o f we l f a r e r e c i p i e n t s was 60:40 - 60% t o the c i t y and 40% to the improvement d i s t r i c t s . S o c i a l w e l f a r e c o s t s t o the c i t y (1973) were $209,330.87. Thus the p r o p o r t i o n of the c o s t s a l l o c a t e d t o the o u t s i d e areas would be approximately: 100/60 x $209,330.87 = $348,884.78 40% of $348,887.78 = $139,553.91 139,553.91 P u b l i c h e a l t h s e r v i c e s amount t o $6,744.24. These c o s t s are predominantly r e l a t e d t o p o p u l a t i o n s i z e and as the o u t s i d e areas have a s l i g h t l y l a r g e r p o p u l a t i o n than the i3 . a o l d c i t y , i t i s f a i r t o assume t h a t the c o s t s w i l l be a t l e a s t the same, $6,744. 24. J . . . 6,744.24 F i n a l l y a c o s t schedule estimate of a l l Department of Highways c o s t s a t t r i b u t e d t o the o u t l y i n g areas f o r 1973 was $408,400.00. The t o t a l c o s t of these c _ 408,400.00 t h r e e f u n c t i o n s were t h e r e f o r e : $302,320.91 + $139,553.91 + $6,774.24 + 408,400.00 = 856,979.06 $856,979.06 Assessment r a t e s f o r the Improvement D i s t r i c t s are a v a i l a b l e from m u n i c i p a l s t a t i s t i c s . In 1973 assessments f o r g e n e r a l m u n i c i p a l purposes were: ELECTORIAL AREA IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT ASSESSED VALUE B Harewood $10,082,904. D Nor t h f i e I d / M o u n t a i n 11,820,55 8. E Departure Bay 15,535,303. F W e l l i n g t o n 14,591,359. A P e t r o g l y p h 5,000,000. (part of) $57,038,124. T o t a l assessments f o r P e t r o g l y p h cannot be a c c u r a t e l y e x t r a c t e d from the s t a t i s t i c s as the e l e c t o r i a l d i s t r i c t covers a c o n s i d e r a b l y g r e a t e r area than P e t r o g l y p h F i r e P r o t e c t i o n D i s t r i c t . Due t o i t s s m a l l s i z e , p o p u l a t i o n and b u i l d i n g c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , a $5,000,000. assessment, would, i n the author's o p i n i o n be a l i b e r a l e stimate. 1 3 9 -The above i n f o r m a t i o n now permits the c a l c u l a t i o n of a m i l l r a t e : expenditure f o r three s e r v i c e s = $856,979.06 1 m i l l = 1/10 or $0,001 .001 x $57,038,124 = 57,038.12 (what 1 m i l l g e n e r a t e s ) , $856,979. 06 •=• $57,038. 12 = 15.02 m i l l s Thus the a n a l y s i s shows t h a t the m i l l r a t e should be s u b s t a n t i a l l y h i g h e r than the p r e s e n t 10 m i l l r a t e , p a r t i c u l a r l y when the r e are numerous a d m i n i s t r a t i v e s e r v i c e s which a l s o f a l l w i t h i n the 10 m i l l package, ( f o r example, s u b d i v i s i o n a p p r o v a l by the Highways engineer i s done by a p u b l i c servant i n a m u n i c i p a l i t y whose s a l a r y i s payed by the m u n i c i p a l i t y ' s t a x p a y e r s ) . The consequence of t h i s g r e a t l y s u b s i d i z e d tax r a t e s t r u c t u r e i s t h a t i t becomes c o n s i d e r a b l y more d i f f i c u l t to r e s t r u c t u r e communities. People n a t u r a l l y shun the pr o s p e c t s of paying more f o r something which they are al r e a d y g e t t i n g f o r l e s s . P osing t h i s c o n c l u s i o n i n a l e t t e r t o Mr. C.H.L. Woodward, A s s o c i a t e Deputy M i n i s t e r of M u n i c i p a l A f f a i r s ( V i c t o r i a ) h i s r e j o i n d e r supported 7 t h i s h y p o t h e s i s : "The f i x e d 10 m i l l p r o v i n c i a l r a t e which has been i n p l a c e s i n c e a t l e a s t 1918 f a i l s t o re c o g n i z e the a c t u a l c o s t of s e r v i c e s p r o v i d e d by the p r o v i n c e t o non-municipal areas. T h i s f i x e d r a t e coupled w i t h the ever growing m u n i c i p a l tax r a t e s makes i t d i f f i c u l t t o i n t r o d u c e change i n m u n i c i p a l s t r u c t u r e w i t h each p a s s i n g year." I t i s recommended t h e r e f o r e t h a t A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF THE BENEFITS RECEIVED BY NON-MUNICIPAL AREAS AND THE AMOUNT CHARGED TO THEM FOR PROVINCIALLY PROVIDED SERVICES BE UNDERTAKEN WITH THE VIEW OF COMING UP WITH A FLEXIBLE METHOD OF MEASURING THE BENEFITS AND COSTS SO THAT THE RATE CAN FLUCTUATE WITH THE ANNUAL COSTS OF PROVIDING * THE SERVICES. I t i s of the utmost importance t h a t an accurate assessment of the b e n e f i t s and c o s t s i n non-m u n i c i p a l areas be a t t a i n e d i n the i n t e r e s t o f f a i r n e s s , e q u i t y and of producing agreement or r a t i o n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n of m u n i c i p a l f u n c t i o n s . A t h i r d c o n c l u s i o n stems from the d e s c r i p t i v e a n a l y s i s of Ghapter5. I t i s apparent t h a t success i n r e o r g a n i z i n g the p a t t e r n o f l o c a l government r e q u i r e s a p a r t i c u l a r type o f implementation pr o c e s s . The 1970 amalgamation vo t e i n Nanaimo was preceeded by a competent p u b l i c i t y campaign but was somewhat remiss i n d e t a i l . To some extent the r e v e r s e was t r u e i n 19 74. D e s p i t e having more f a c t and d e t a i l the 1974 r e s t r u c t u r e vote r e c e i v e d l e s s support, and i f i t had not been f o r changes In l e g i s l a t i o n * At the time of w r i t i n g the P r o v i n c i a l Government has formed a committee t o look i n t o a l l aspects of t a x a t i o n i n B r i t i s h Columbia. H o e p f u l l y t h i s very s e r i o u s problem w i l l be reviewed. 1411. flowering the acceptance rate to a simple majority) the 1974 proposal would have also been scuttled. The major theme i n Nanaimo was planning. I t i s only natural that s e l l i n g a whole new product - a new c i t y -on something as nebulous as planning w i l l meet s t i f f opposition unless a very thorough indoctrination program i s included. A program not just i n d i c a t i n g the virtues of planning, but amplifying a l l benefits that p o l i t i c a l re-structure w i l l engender. In Nanaimo, for example, a f i f t h sub-committee could have been struck to prepare and plan a public education and propaganda campaign. It would be adviseable i n future restructure proposals that AN ACTIVE EDUCATION PROGRAM FORM AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE RESTRUCTURE PACKAGE. Hopefully the benefits of restructure w i l l percolate throughout the community thereby making restructure more palatable for the public to digest. Inherent i n t h i s recommendation i s a bias i n that i t assumes that restructure i s the only course. I t assumes that alternative views are motivated by s e l f i n t e r e s t and/ or shortsightedness. In some instances t h i s may be true \ y while i n others i t may not.%>eo. Although I am a strong supporter of amalgamation I am personally i n c l i n e d to take the view that so long as 142. there are not m a n i f e s t i n e q u i t i e s between the l o c a l gov-ernments and so long as ample s u p e r v i s i o n of environmental standards are maintained, i f the a f f e c t e d p a r t i e s r e j e c t amalgamation Ceven i f r e j e c t i o n w i l l r e s u l t i n i n c r e a s e d c o s t s to them) t h e i r c o l l e c t i v e d e c i s i o n should be r e c o g n i z e d . T h i s 'concession' would only occur however, a f t e r a thorough examination and e x p l a n a t i o n o f the e f f e c t s o f amalgamation had been undertaken and a n e g a t i v e r e s u l t had been encountered a t the p o l l s . I f c o n d i t i o n s d e t e r i o r a t e to the p o i n t where human l i f e i s endangered or where environmental c o n d i t i o n s are a d v e r s e l y a f f e c t e d and no a c t i o n t o r e c o n c i l e l o c a l government d i f f e r e n c e s i s apparent the p r o v i n c i a l government may be l e f t w i t h no a l t e r n a t i v e but to use l e s s democratic measures ( i . e . f o r c e d merger). T h i s was the case i n the communities of Kamloops and Kelowna. I f such a c t i o n becomes necessary i t might be prudent to i n c o r p o r a t e a l e s s orthodox government s t r u c t u r e . For example, e n l a r g i n g the c i t y c o u n c i l to say 15 to 20 members; o r a p p l y i n g q u a s i -f e d e r a t e d government s t r u c t u r e . Such a c t i o n s however should o n l y be taken i n c o n c e r t w i t h l o c a l r e s i d e n t p a r t i c i p a t i o n . C. FURTHER RESEARCH There are three areas where f u r t h e r r e s e a r c h i s warranted. The most immediate and a l r e a d y mentioned i s the undertaking o f a c o s t accounting study i n non-municipal areas. Two other r e s e a r c h areas focus more on s p e c i f i c a s pects o f the Nanaimo r e s t r u c t u r e . One area of study i s to examine the m u n i c i p a l i t y ' s f i n a n c i a l p i c t u r e i n approximately s i x years time when a l l c o s t o b l i g a t i o n s have been assumed by the new m u n i c i p a l i t y . Only then can a complete a n a l y s i s of the d o l l a r i m p l i c a t i o n s of amalgamation be a s c e r t a i n e d and the c o s t s and a d v i s e a b i l i t y of r e s t r u c t u r i n g other communities be r e c o g n i z e d . The other area of r e s e a r c h t h a t c o u l d p r o v i d e an i n t e r e s t i n g c o r o l l a r y a n a l y s i s to t h i s t h e s i s would be to analyze, i n s e v e r a l years time, the extent to which p r e s s u r e s are e x e r t e d to develop to the n o r t h ( L a n t z v i l l e area) and to the south (Cedar area) of the new c i t y . The p a t t e r n of v o t i n g r e v e a l e d a strong r e j e c t i o n of amalgamation by the o u t l y i n g r e s i d e n t s and as the q u a l i t y of s e r v i c e s i n these areas improve and are made uniform, and as taxes i n c r e a s e to pay f o r the h i g h e r l e v e l of s e r v i c e s , i t would be i n t e r -e s t i n g to observe i f t h e i r o b j e c t i o n t o amalgamation g i v e s r i s e to a demand to move o u t s i d e the new c i t y and i n t o areas t h a t remain unorganized. D. SUMMARY At the outset of t h i s chapter, i t was s t a t e d t h a t , from a p l a n n i n g p e r s p e c t i v e , r e s t r u c t u r e i s a most p r o g r e s s i v e step but t h a t t h e r e w i l l be some d i f f i c u l t times and c e r t a i n n e g a t i v e s p i n o f f e f f e c t s . Judging from v o t e r response, i t i s apparent t h a t a s i g n i f i c a n t p o r t i o n o f the populous was opposed t o the i n c r e a s e d r e g u l a t i o n and c o n t r o l i m p l i c i t w ith amalgamation. Yet t h e r e i s an overwhelmingly s t r o n g case f o r having a community w i t h some degree o f planned; s t r u c t u r e , o r d e r and p r e d i c t a b i l i t y w i t h i n i t . I t seems to be the o n l y way i n a complex and growing s o c i e t y t o achieve a s a t i s f a c t o r y environment, adequate s e r v i c e s and f a c i l i t i e s and a manageable t a x b i l l . The immediate f u t u r e of Nanaimo may i n c l u d e some d i f f i c u l t and perhaps c o s t l y times. However i n the author's o p i n i o n the d e c i s i o n t o amalgamate w i l l have long range b e n e f i t s f a r outweighing any sh o r t run disadvantages. For any inconveniences which may be encountered d u r i n g t h i s ' g e s t a t i o n ' p e r i o d , the c i t i z e n s of Nanaimo can perhaps be s o l a c e d by the f o l l o w i n g quote. "...so i n a l l human a f f a i r s , one n o t i c e s , i f one examines them c l o s e l y t h a t i t i s im p o s s i b l e t o remove one inconvenience without another emerging...Hence i n a l l d i s c u s s i o n one should c o n s i d e r which a l t e r n a t i v e i n v o l v e s fewer inconveniences and should adopt t h i s as the bes t course, f o r one never f i n d s any i s s u e t h a t i s c l e a r cut and not open to q u e s t i o n . " M a c h i a v e l i , THE DISCOURCES 145. A l t s h u l e r , A. The C i t y P l a n n i n g P r o c e s s : A P o l i t i c a l A n a l y s i s . I t h a c a : C o r n e l l U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1965, p. 316. T h i s i s the o p i n i o n h e l d by the author and supported by Mr. R. Rowledge, C i t y T r e a s u r e r f o r Nanaimo. These c o s t s are estimated a t an average 10% per annum i n f l a t i o n . The p o l i c i n g c o s t s were d e r i v e d i n p r o p o r t i o n to the 1973 expenditure o f the o l d c i t y a t a r a t i o o f 1:625. Road expenditures were determined from 19 73 expenditure e s t i m a t e s . P o l i c e : 20,000 (outside r e s i d e n t s - 625 = 32 p o l i c e required) 32/24 x 355,239.81 (expenditures f o r 24 p o l i c e f o r Nanaimo i n 19 73) = $473,653.04 - 1973 $473,653.04 x 10% i n f l a t i o n t o 1979 = $839,104.00 Road: $408,400. = 1973 c o s t s to o u t s i d e areas $408,400. x 10% per annum i n f l a t i o n to 1979 = $723,505.00 $100,000. - new equipment, workshop, e t c . , $100,000.00 $1,662,609.00 Statement by R. Rowledge, p e r s o n a l i n t e r v i e w , A p r i l , 19 75. B.C. S t a t u t e s . T a x a t i o n A c t . 1960 C376 and Amendments. B.C. Department of M u n i c i p a l A f f a i r s . M u n i c i p a l S t a t i s t i c s . 1974. Based on p e r s o n a l correspondence between Mr. C.H.L. Woodward, A s s o c i a t e Deputy M i n i s t e r o f M u n i c i p a l A f f a i r s and the w r i t e r , February 18, 1975. BIBLIOGRAPHY 147. BIBLIOGRAPHY BOOKS 1. A l t s h u l e r , A. The C i t y P l a n n i n g Process; A P o l i t i c a l A n a l y s i s . I t h i c a : C o r n e l l U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1965. 2. A.V.G. Management S e r v i c e s . Economic A n a l y s i s o f the Regional D i s t r i c t of Nanaimo. Vancouver: 19 73. 3. Banovetz, J.M. Government Cost Burdens and S e r v i c e B e n e f i t s i n the Twin C i t i e s M e t r o p o l i t a n Area. M i n n e a p o l i s : P u b l i c A d m i n i s t r a t i o n Centre, U n i v e r s i t y of Minnesota, 1965. 4. Bennis, G. D. Berne and R. Chin (eds.) The P l a n n i n g of Change. N.Y.: H o l t , Rhinehart and Winston, 1968. 5. B i s h , R.L. and V. Ostrom. Understanding Urban Government: M e t r o p o l i t a n Reform Resconsidered. Washington, D.C: American I n s t i t u t e of P u b l i c A d m i n i s t r a t i o n , 19 74. 6. B r a z e r , H.E. C i t y Expenditures i n the U.S. N.Y.: N a t i o n a l Bureau of Economic Research, 1959. 7. Brown, P. and McLean, J . The $ Burden of Growth. Vancouver: Greater Vancouver Regional D i s t r i c t , 19 74. 8. Campbell, A.K. (ed.) P u b l i c Finances, Needs, Sources and U t i l i z a t i o n . P r i n c e t o n U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1966. 9. E t i z o n i , A. Modern O r g a n i z a t i o n . Englwood C l i f f s , N.J.: P r e n t i c e - H a l l , 1964. 10. Feldman, L.D. and M.D. G o l d r i c k . P o l i t i c s and Government o f Urban Canada. Toronto: Methuen, 1969. 11. Greene, K.V. The S t a t e and the M e t r o p o l i s . Alabama, U n i v e r s i t y o f Alabama P r e s s , 196 8. 12. Hawley, A.W. and B.G. Zimmer. The M e t r o p o l i t a n Community. B e v e r l y H i l l s : Sage P u b l i c a t i o n s , 1970. 148. 13. Henderson, W.L. and L.C. Hedebur. Urban Economics: Process and Problems. New York: John Wiley, 19 72. 14. H i r s c h , W.Z. Urban Economic A n a l y s i s . New York: McGraw-H i l l , 1973. 15. Jackman, S.W. Vancouver I s l a n d . Vancouver: David and C h a r l e s L t d . , 1972. 16. Janawitz, J . (ed.) Community P o l i t i c a l Systems. Glencoe, 111.: Free P r e s s , 1964. 17. Johnson, P.M. A Short H i s t o r y o f Nanaimo. Nanaimo: Evergreen P r e s s , 1958. 18. Kaplan, H. The Regional C i t y . C.B.C. U n i v e r s i t y of the A i r , 1965. 19. Katz, D. and R.L. Kahn. Modern O r g a n i z a t i o n s . N.Y.: John Wiley and Sons, 1966. 20. Leemans, A.F. Changing P a t t e r n s o f L o c a l Government. Stolkholm: I n t e r n a t i o n a l Union o f L o c a l A u t h o r i t i e s , 19 70. 21. L i t h w i c k , H. The Urban Future. Ottawa: C e n t r a l Mortgage and Housing C o r p o r a t i o n , 19 70. 22. Musgrave, R.A. The Theory of P u b l i c F i n a n c e . N.Y.: McGraw-Hill, 1959. 23. Pearson, N. The Future of thd. M i d d l e - S i z e d C i t y : S a t e l l i t e , Ghost Town, or Human Community. Quelph, O n t a r i o : Centre f o r Resources Development, U n i v e r s i t y o f Quelph, Pub. #31, 19 70. 24. P l u n k e t t , T.L. Urban Canada and I t s Government: A Study of M u n i c i p a l O r g a n i z a t i o n . Toronto: MacMillan, 1968. 25. Regional D i s t r i c t o f Nanaimo. A Study i n L o c a l Government. Nanimo: A p r i l , 1970. 26. S c h a f f e r , A. and R.C. S c h a f f e r , A Study of Community D e c i s i o n Making. Chapel H i l l , N. C a r o l i n a : The U n i v e r s i t y o f North C a r o l i n a P r e s s , 19 70. 27. Short, G.E. M e t r o p o l i t a n Government and Regional Planning; Problem and P r a c t i s e A p p l i c a t i o n t o Montreal. Montreal Board of Trade, 1956. 28. S c o t t , S. and K e l l e r , L. A Guide to Community A c t i o n : Annexation and .Incorportion. C a l i f o r n i a : C a l i f o r n i a S'tate P u b l i c a t i o n , "1958. 29. Sofen, E. The M e t r o p o l i t a n Miami Experiment. Bloomington, Indianna: Indianna U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 196 3. 39. de T o r r e s , J . F i n a n c i n g L o c a l Government. N.Y.: S t u d i e s i n Business Economics #96, 1967. 31. Government S e r v i c e s i n a Metro Area. N. Y. : A Research Report from the Conference Board, 1972. 32. Wood, R.C. 1400 Governments. Cambridge: Harvard U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1961. 33. Wingo, L. (ed.) Reform of M e t r o p o l i t a n Government. B a l t i m o r e : John Hopkins P r e s s , 1972. PERIODICALS 1. Baumal, W.J. "The Macroeconomics of Unbalanced Growth," American Economic Review, v o l . 57, 1967. 2. Dajami, J.S. "Cost S t u d i e s i n Urban P u b l i c Finance," Land Economics. v o l . 49, 1973. 3. Dye, T.R. "Urban P o l i t i c a l I n t e g r a t i o n : C o n d i t i o n s A s s o c i a t e d w i t h Annexation i n American Communities," Midwest J o u r n a l of P o l i t i c a l S c i e n c e , v o l . 8 , 1964. 4. G i l s d o r f , R.R. "Voter S u s c e p t a b i l i t y to I n f l u e n c e , " Canadian P o l i t i c a l Science Review. Dec. 1973. 5. Hawkins, B.W. " F r i n g e - C i t y L i f e S t y l e D i s t a n c e and F r i n g e Support of L o c a l Government," American J o u r n a l of S o c i o l o g y . v o l . 74, 1968. 6. "A. Note on U r b a n . ' P o l i t i c a l S t r u c t u r e , " Environment a n d . P o l i t i c a l I n t e g r a t i o n , " P o l i c y , v o l . 2, 1969. 7. " P u b l i c Opinion and M e t r o p o l i t a n Con-s o l i d a t i o n i n N a s h v i l l e , " J o u r n a l of P o l i t i c s , v o l . 28, 1966. 150. 8. Hawley, A.H. " M e t r o p o l i t a n P o p u l a t i o n s and M u n i c i p a l Government Expenditues i n C e n t r a l C i t i e s , " J o u r n a l o f S o c i a l Issues. v o l . 7, 1951. 9. Hawley, A.H. and B.G. Zimmer. " L o c a l Government as Viewed by F r i n g e Residents," R u r a l S o c i o l o g y , v o l . 25, 1958. 10. H i r s c h , W.Z. " L o c a l Versus Areawide Urban Government S e r v i c e s , " N a t i o n a l Tax J o u r n a l , v o l . 17, 1964. 11. "Expenditure I m p l i c a t i o n s of M e t r o p o l i t a n Growth and C o n s o l i d a t i o n , " The Review of Economics and S t a t i s t i c s , v o l . 41, 1959. 12. Kasarada, J.D. "The Impact of Suburban P o p u l a t i o n Growth on C e n t r a l C i t y S e r v i c e F u n c t i o n s , " American J o u r n a l of S o c i o l o g y , v o l . 77, 1972. 13. Kunkel, R. "The Role of S e r v i c e s i n Annexation of Metro F r i n g e Area,"Land Economics, v o l . 36, 1960. 14. Marando, V.L. and C.R. W h i t t l y , "City-County C o n s o l i d a t i o n : An Overview of V o t e r Response," Urban A f f a i r s , Q u a r t e r l y . v o l . 8, 19 72. 15. Ostrom, V,-\ C. M. Tiebout, and R. Warren, "The O r g a n i z a t i o n of Government i n M e t r o p o l i t a n Areas: A T h e o r e t i c a l Enquiry," American P o l i t i c a l Science Review. v o l . 55, 1964. 16. Shapiro, H. "Economics of S c a l e and L o c a l Government Finance," Land Economics, v o l . 34, 1963. 17. Sproule-Jones, M. and K.D. 3ar. "A P u b l i c Choice Model of P o l i t i c a l P a r t i c i p a t i o n , " Canadian J o u r n a l o f P o l i t i c a l S c i e n c e , v o l . 6, 1973. 18. Tyne, R. "Nanaimo C e l e b r a t e s Century of P r o g r e s s , " Trade and Commerce Magazine. A p r i l , 1974. 19. Warren, R. "A M u n i c i p a l S e r v i c e s Model of M e t r o p o l i t a n O r g a n i z a t i o n , " A.I.P. v o l . 30, 19 64. 151. GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS 1. A d v i s o r y Commission on Intergovernmental R e l a t i o n s . M e t r o p o l i t a n S o c i a l and Economic D i s p a r i t i e s : I m p l i c a t i o n s f o r Intergovernmental R e l a t i o n s i n C e n t r a l C i t i e s and Suburbs. Washington, D.C: U.S. Government P u b l i c a t i o n s , 1955. 2. A d v i s o r y Commission on Intergovernmental R e l a t i o n s . Performance of Urban Government F u n c t i o n s : L o c a l and Areawide. Washington, D.C, 1963. 3. B r i t i s h Columbia Department of M u n i c i p a l A f f i a r s . Report. V i c t o r i a : Queens P r i n t e r , 1952-1974. 4. M u n i c i p a l S t a t i s t i c s . V i c t o r i a : Queens P r i n t e r , 1974. 5. S t a t i s t i c s R e l a t i n g to Regional and M u n i c i p a l Governments. V i c t o r i a : Queens P r i n t e r , 1973 and 1974. 6. Cambell, The Hon. Don. The Changing Face of L o c a l Government. V i c t o r i a : Department of M u n i c i p a l A f f a i r s , 1967. 7. C i t y o f Nanaimo and Improvement D i s t r i c t s o f Departure Bay, Harewood, Mountain, N o r t h f i e l d , P e t r o g l y p h and W e l l i n g t o n . F i n a n c i a l Statements. f o r year ending December 31, 1973. 8. Department of Urban S t u d i e s . A d j u s t i n g M u n i c i p a l Boundaries: Law and P r a c t i s e . Washington, D.C., 1966. 9. F i n a l Report of the R e s t r u c t u r e Committee, Nanaimo: October, 1974. 10. Regional. D i s t r i c t of Nanaimo. A Study i n L o c a l Government. Nanaimo: 19 70. 11. S t a t i s t i c s Canada. 19 71 Cencus data. 12. O n t a r i o Royal Commission on Metro Toronto, 1965. LEGISLATION 1. B.C.•Statutes. Drainage, Dyking and Development A c t , 195 8, clOO, s i . 2. L o c a l S e r v i c e s A c t . 1957, c34 s i . 3. P u b l i c Schools A c t . 1958, c 42 s i . 4. M u n i c i p a l A c t . 1957, c42 s i . 5. T a x a t i o n Act. 1960, c376 6. Water Act . 1957, c42 s515 7. Greater Nanaimo Sewage and Drainage A c t , 1959, clOO, r e p e a l e d , 1972, c38,s5 O.C. UNPUBLISHED 1. F o r r e s t e r , E.A.M. "The Urban Development of C e n t r a l Vancouver I s l a n d , " Unpublished Masters d i s s e r t a t i o n , U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Columbia, 19 66. 2. Matheson, M.H. "Some E f f e c t s o f Coal Mining Upon the Development of the Nanaimo Area," Unpublished Masters d i s s e r t a t i o n , U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Columbia, 1950. NEWSPAPER ARTICLES 1. The D a i l y C o l o n i s t ( V i c t o r i a ) June, 19 70 and October 1974 i s s u e s . 2. The Nanaimo D a i l y Free Press (Nanaimo) June 1970 and January to November 19 74 i s s u e s . 3. The Vancouver Sun (Vancouver)' '1917*4. 153. WRITTEN CORRESPONDENCE WITH: 1. Mr. G. F r i t h , A d m i n i s t r a t o r , Nanaimo Regional General H o s p i t a l , January 2 7, 19 75. 2. Mr. B. MacKay, D i r e c t o r of P l a n n i n g , Nanaimo Regional D i s t r i c t , January 17, 19 75 and February 5, 19 75. 3. Mr. W. M o r r i s , D i s t r i c t Highways Manager, Department of Highways, February 24, 19 75. 4. Mr. J . Stendebach, C i t y Planner, C i t y of Kelowna, March 20, 19 75. 5. Mr. J.H. Thorpe, S e c r e t a r y T r e a s u r e r , School D i s t r i c t #6 8, (Nanaimo), January 30, 19 75. 6. I n s p e c t o r D. Webster, O f f i c e r i n Charge, Nannaimo R.C.M.P. Detachment, February 4, 19 75. 7. Mr. C.H.L. Woodward, A s s o c i a t e Deputy M i n i s t e r of M u n i c i p a l A f f a i r s : Jauuary 29, 19 75, Febraury 28, 19 75 and A p r i l 29, 19 75. PERGONAL INTERVIEWS: A i d . R. Brookbank A i d . J . Ferguson A i d . G.L.Hall A i d . T. K e l l y A i d . K. Medland A i d . J . M o f f a t t Mayor F. Ney A i d . G. Sedola A i d . A. V i r o s t k o C o u n c i l Members f o r the Amalgamated C i t y of Nanaimo. Mr. R. Rowledge, t r e a s u r e r , C i t y of Nanaimo. Mr. B. MacDonald, C h i e f Commissioner, Greater Nanaimo Water D i s t r i c t . Mr. W. Mackay, D i r e c t o r of Planning, Nanaimo Regiona l D i s t r i c t , Mr. H. Whopper, D i r e c t o r of Parks, C i t y of Nanaimo. APPENDIX QUESTIONAIRE 155. APPENDIX A INTERVIEW QUESTIONS 1. What are your thoughts on the statement t h a t p r i o r ' t o amalgamation the o u t s i d e improvement d i s t r i c t s were e n j o y i n g the use of p u b l i c s e r v i c e s but were not pa y i n g the c o s t s ? Could you c i t e some s p e c i f i c examples? 2. I f some u n i n c o r p o r a t e d areas had b e t t e r l e v e l s o f s e r v i c e what i s your e x p l a n a t i o n f o r t h i s ? Could you c i t e s p e c i f i c areas and s e r v i c e s ? 3. What do you see as the f i n a n c i a l b e n e f i t s (and costs) f o r the ' o l d ' C i t y ? For the o u t l y i n g impro^raeht d i s t r i c t s ? 4. Do you t h i n k there has been w a s t e f u l d u p l i c a t i o n of s e r v i c e s as a r e s u l t o f f r a c t i o n a l i z a t i o n o f u n i t s ? S p e c i f y . 5. Was the p r e v i o u s s i t u a t i o n a d e t e r r e n t to good c o u n c i l candidates? Why? 6. What are your thoughts on the new p a t t e r n of area r e p r e s e n t a t i o n ? ( i . e . the ward system). 7. What i s your e x p l a n a t i o n f o r the low a f f i r m a t i v e vote on November 2, 1974? How e f f e c t i v e were the committee r e p o r t s i n p r e p a r i n g f o r amalgamation? 8. Do you t h i n k t h a t the ot h e r l e v e l s : of government p r o v i d e d s u f f i c i e n t guidance?