ZERO PLANNING AND ZERO RESPECT FOR RESIDENTS IN LATEST BUDGET, SAYS TEAM FOR A LIVABLE VANCOUVER

Broken Campaign Promise Results in Budget Circus

VANCOUVER (Nov. 17, 2025) – Ken Sim’s desperate last-minute effort to convince voters he’s fiscally responsible by slashing the budget is the exact opposite of how TEAM would handle city finances. The so-called “Zero Means Zero” budget is an utter disaster in both communications and execution.

“Livable cities require sustainable and transparent financial models that reflect meaningful input from residents and businesses,” says TEAM’s finance policy, which would guarantee 630 people wouldn’t be lining up to protest a TEAM-council budget.

During his 2022 campaign, Sim promised line-item budgets for the five years before his election and for all years going forward. They never appeared. His much-touted mayor’s task force on the budget produced little. Instead the operating budget ballooned to $2.3 billion from $1.97 billion during ABC’s first three years. Staffing rose by 748 full-time equivalent positions.

TEAM would produce detailed, line-by-line budgets, as TEAM’s Colleen Hardwick proposed after she was elected to Council in 2018. Although her motion passed unanimously (see page 25), it was never acted on.

A TEAM council would consult residents early and carefully consider their responses and ability to pay for the core services cities must provide. There would be no surprises.

By contrast, ABC’s budgeting has been a rollercoaster from the start, dinging residents for 22% property tax increases in the first three years, then abruptly trying to cancel that out with 0% in an election year.

Unlike the other opposition parties, TEAM is not blanket-opposing budget cuts. Instead, it is advocating for thoughtful and careful line-by-line study of city expenses to ensure residents get value for their tax dollars.

TEAM believes the tremendous increase in the cost of administration must be studied, especially since it has not been matched by an increase in the quality or quantity of city services.

But residents are rightfully outraged by the blatant politicization of the budget, its lack of information, and the naked hypocrisy of ABC’s record in government.