Taxpayers in the Township are paying disproportionately more for public transit than property owners in Surrey and Maple Ridge, and Mayor Rick Green will not support any further burden, he said on Monday.

Green made the comment as he recapped the dilemma faced by all Metro Vancouver municipalities as TransLink grapples with its funding woes.

All property owners in communities served by TransLink pay a fee to the transportation authority through their annual property taxes. On a per capita basis, Langley Township property owners pay 41.6 per cent more than Surrey ratepayers, and 59.1 per cent more than those in Maple Ridge.

On top of that, Green said, for all the money they are paying, Langley residents are not receiving a high enough level of transportation service.

“We need to see some pretty significant improvement to the Township,” he said, adding that he didn’t think anyone in Langley has an appetite for a vehicle levy.

Green is a member of the Mayors’ Council which is comprised of representatives of the 21 municipalities, as well as the Tsawwassen First Nation.

The council’s mandate is to represent the viewpoints and interests of the citizens of the region.

The council approves plans prepared by TransLink, including the transportation plan, regional funding and borrowing limits.

TransLink has cash reserves that will be used up in about two years. Its 10-year plan has four options:

1. Reduce services, use existing funding sources, and cap borrowing at the existing $2.8 billion limit;

2. Supplement the above by raising another $130 million from taxpayers every year;

3. Maintain and upgrade, borrow up to $3.9 billion, and raise $275 million annually, and impose a new vehicle levy;

4. Take #3 as a starting point, dramatically expand rapid transit, and raise $175 million annually, over and above the $275 million in plan 3; and borrow up to $6.5 billion.

Metro Vancouver mayors are leaning towards Option 2, Green said. While it does not add any other funding sources, such as a vehicle levy, “all this does is keep TransLink at the current level,” excluding the Evergreen Line expansion [a plan to connect Coquitlam, Port Moody and Burnaby to Vancouver].

One of the problems facing TransLink is that while the provincial and federal governments provide the funds for capital projects, they do not give money to operate them, Green said.

“All the mayors are united. We want to meet with the provincial and federal governments to find sustainable funding.”

In an interview after Monday’s afternoon council meeting, Green explained that senior levels of government insist that municipalities have the tools to find the funding TransLink needs.

“But what we are saying is that we are not going to introduce a vehicle levy and no increase in property taxes. We are just not going there and we are united on that,”

The Mayors’ Council is to vote on the funding options in October.