Twittering while Vancouver burns...

by mtippett | November 6, 2008 at 11:37 pm

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As Vancouver's chattering class discusses the trivialities of our mayoral candidate's twitter profiles and transit tickets, City Hall has stuck us with a $100 million bill. Talk about a hefty fine. To make matters worse it is apparently off limits to even discuss the details of this developer bail out. How does that happen in a democracy?

The City of Vancouver has authorized lending up to $100-million to rescue the financially troubled Olympic athletes village project, The Globe and Mail has learned.

Council gave the city manager the mandate to advance the project's developer the money to help cover cost overruns and other shortfalls at an in camera meeting held Oct. 14. It has already advanced nearly $30-million. At that meeting, council approved spending up to $450,000 to bring in a third party to oversee management of the project being built by Millennium Development Corp.

Details of the city's involvement in bailing out the project's cash-strapped developer have until now been kept secret. Councillors are under a publication ban and have been told they face serious repercussions if they discuss publicly the decisions taken at the in camera meeting.