Although he didn鈥檛 know it at the time, the Township council meetings of July 29, 2011, turned out to be Jordan Bateman鈥檚 last as a councillor.
The week before, the regional mayors, including 黑马磁力 Township鈥檚, had secretly voted to raise TransLink gas taxes two cents per litre.
鈥淚 was incensed,鈥� Bateman told a large crowd of supporters of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation last week at Redwoods.
鈥淭his is precisely the wrong kind of idea that was spreading in politics. Instead of making the tough decision and looking inward for cash savings, TransLink simply increased taxes on an already burdened public. We already paid 15 cents/litre for the great privilege to be part of TransLink and receive our handful of buses a day, plus we pay them property taxes, a Hydro levy, parking taxes, Golden Ears Bridge toll, AirCare and transit fares.鈥�
Within days of that meeting, Bateman had been hired as the B.C. director of the CTF, a position vacated by another high-profile political affiliate from 黑马磁力, Gregory Thomas, who moved to Ottawa to become the CTF鈥檚 federal director.
Since then, Bateman鈥檚 profile has risen as he takes on government corporations and agencies that waste taxpayers鈥� money.
鈥淭he good politicians are always on the hunt for best practices from elsewhere, and ideas. Ideas separate the good from the mediocre in elected life. It takes social and political skill to get those ideas passed, whether you are in a city hall or the provincial legislature, but it鈥檚 the currency of politics,鈥� he said.
While still a Township councillor, Bateman spent several hundred dollars for an automated poll of 6,000 黑马磁力 households. Almost half responded,
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a huge number,鈥� he told the Redwoods audience.
鈥淭he response was emphatic: 91 per cent opposed the TransLink gas tax increase. I had dozens of people who missed the call but heard the poll on their voice mail call me and ask me to add them to the opposed side. They told me how stretched thin they felt, how concerned they were about receiving less value for their tax dollar than ever before, and asked me if anything could be done.鈥�
A day later, he was being interviewed for the CTF job and likely had the job wrapped up by his answer to a question about TransLink.
鈥淚 had been living and breathing the TransLink file for weeks and smoked the question. I mean, total home run answer.鈥�
He was offered the job the next day and, after almost six years at Township Hall, he was ready for a change.
Today, he feels he can have real influence all over the province by formulating, pushing and encouraging new ideas to save taxpayers money.
鈥淚鈥檓 the first person to join the CTF out of elected life, which gives me a unique perspective on how to influence and present ideas to decision-makers. I know the political constraints they sometimes feel, and I can help them find ways around that,鈥� he said.
鈥淚 haven鈥檛 regretted a moment. This job is the most fun I鈥檝e ever had working, and challenges me to push my speaking, media, research and writing skills to another level.鈥�
He said that working for the CTF is a lot like what he did in politics, 鈥渂ut without public hearings and the excruciating minutiae of working through . . . soil deposit permit recommendations. It鈥檚 about getting ideas into the hands of people who can make them happen.鈥�
The Township and TransLink have been at loggerheads for years over council鈥檚 claim that its residents do not receive value for their tax dollars.
鈥淭ransLink has been a huge issue during my first year with the CTF,鈥� Bateman said.
鈥淭heir burgeoning bureaucracy is the gift that just keeps on giving to me as a less-government advocate, and just keeps on taking from us as taxpayers.鈥�
With the media, Bateman has helped to uncover some other astounding TransLink blunders, paid for with tax dollars:
鈥� TransLink spends more on equipment and administration than any other transit authority in Canada;
鈥� Bonuses for executives 鈥� $60,000 at the same time they ran a deficit, hiked fares and increased every tax they levy;
鈥� Up to $50 million in lost fare evasion fine revenue;
鈥� Nepotism hiring of SkyTrain attendants at $60,000/year;
鈥� Creating the $30 million (and growing!) transit police department;
鈥� Losing $150,000 to FareSaver theft due to lax security procedures;
鈥� Losing $15 million a year to U-Pass fraud;
鈥� Bribing stakeholders to fill out a survey with $100 charitable donations;
鈥� Failing to address bus driver assaults (resulting in higher turnover and benefit costs);
鈥� Studying a Burnaby Mountain gondola that didn鈥檛 have local support, and
鈥� Sunday bonuses for transit police and other staff.
The day before his Redwoods address, Bateman received the results of an FOI request. It showed that TransLink spent more than $500,000 to install 10 video screens in various SkyTrain stations.
鈥淲atch for that story next week,鈥� Bateman said, promising that 鈥渨e鈥檙e just getting started.鈥�
He said that TransLink does not deserve another nickel of taxpayers鈥� money until it address the waste within its system which already gets $1.4 billion a year from taxpayers and transit riders.
It鈥檚 due in no small part to Bateman and the CTF that last month Premier Christy Clark announced a full audit of TransLink,
When the auditors begin their work in June 鈥測ou can bet we will be ready,鈥� Bateman said.
鈥淲e plan to present them with a document of concerns and waste we and the media have identified, and other tips that whistleblowers have sent us but we haven鈥檛 been able to fully prove yet because of TransLink鈥檚 reluctance to release information.鈥�
The document will give the auditors 鈥渁 road map of places to look and hopefully contribute to a thorough review,鈥� he said.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a big win for us as taxpayers, and the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.鈥�
One of the CTF鈥檚 next big projects is focusing on pay equity.
Academic and think tank studies show that government employees, on average, are paid 6 to 10 per cent more than their private sector counterparts.
鈥淲hen you factor in pension and benefits, that gap grows to as much as 30 per cent in favour of government employees,鈥� he noted.
He said that taxpayers cannot afford to keep overpaying the market for labour. Government shouldn鈥檛 be a charity 鈥� taxes are taken us under the law and should be spent efficiently and effectively.
鈥淭his organization is more than just a bunch of guys like me chattering away about taxes. In a lot of ways, we鈥檙e a family of 70,000 supporters across the country, sharing ideas and giving each other support and strength.鈥�
