COUNCIL

JAN 18 1993

POSITION PAPER
on
GVRD POWERS
STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS

The October 9th, 1992 Minnekhada Workshop focused on the structure of the
GVRD decision-making and allocation of functions. A number of isaues and
areas of concern were receatly circulated for feedback. This paper outlines
the City cf Port Coquitlam's comments on several prominent over~all themes.

POWERS OF THE REGIONAL DISTRICT

One of the fundamental concerns was the amount of power and
responsibilities held by the GVRD. We agreed that this is a high-priority
issue that, once clarified, will have to resolve other issues concerning the
structure of and communications with the GVRD.

The GVRD's roles and responsibilities therefore should be clarified so
that appropriate legislation may be brought in to enable the GVRD's mandate to
be fulfilled.

PARTICIPATION BY MUNICIPALITIES

A recurring issue was the level of participation by local municipalities.
There is a perception that municipalities are removed from the GVRD's %
decision-making bodies.

A GVRD executive could be comprised of the smallest group of
representatives from each member-municipality that is directly involved on the
debate on varizus issues. This group is responsible for communicating issues
and decisions back to respective local councils for input, if required. The
role of the chairman of this executive is that of facilitator, with no direct
powers to influence the ultimate decision of the executive.

GYRD FUNCTIONS

The various GVRD functions were reviewed to determine where streamlining
could occur to improve the GVRD's receptiveness.

The functions chat should be dropped from GVRD's responsibilities are
hospitals, housing and social planning. These two areas ere largely funded by
the Province and could be dealt with by their agencies in cooperation with
municipalities.

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