George Harvie, Delta's chief administrative officer, is the man behind Delta council and in charge of civic staff.
Q: What is your background that gets you here in Delta?
I was born in Vancouver, raised in Burnaby and started work when I was 19 after studying environmental health at BCIT. I spent 30 years in Burnaby,
of which the last 10 years was as the deputy city manager, then moved on to Delta. I moved to Delta when I was first married and have been in our first house for 37 years. We have two kids, one is a CA and the other is in the HR and marketing field. Both were educated at the University of Northern B.C., which was a great living experience outside of Tsawwassen, to see how the other half lives.
Q: What is the best day on the job and what is your worst disappointment?
The best day was when the kids were born. The best day here is to help people. The worst day, of which there have not been many, the worst disappointment was the Tsawwassen power lines. They would not relocate them; after all was said and done we could not get the province and the residents together on a common approach. The lines were buried in other areas of Vancouver but our local residents did not want them at all. It was an opportunity we missed.
Q: What about regional policing? We do not have a courthouse, why do we have our own police?
Well, we did have courts, but it was a cost saving measure by the provincial government. The government was cutting back and we were under attack. We lost our courts and were under attack at our hospital. We focused on the hospital and the CT scan that we wanted, so we got 90 per cent approval on the next ballot and we bought a CT scan. The courts were viable, we could run a lot of programs out of that building, however Surrey was big enough to handle it. That was a provincial matter. We have the community to thank for the hospital. It's all a part of having a sustainable community; we're missing one part of that, our own court. It is so vital that we maintain our local police department. When there is an issue, Chief Jim Cessford comes to council and we find the resources to resolve the problem. If we go regional, that could be a whole different question. We have the safest community in Canada because we have a well run police department.
Q: What about the port? Are we losing our farming heritage and lifestyle to the provincial and federal agenda?
We are a gateway for the rest of Canada. The mayor and certain council members have gone back to Ottawa on different occasions and personally met the people involved and that's so important to meet the mayor and hear how they are affecting our lives here in Delta.
Q: Are corporations and offshore investors that own ALR land but do not grow anything an issue?
That's an issue. There is a lot of foreign ownership here. We need help from the provincial authority; more of a penalty for not using the land to grow something. What frustrates me is we have our Delta farmers who could take over these fields at any time and get them back into production.
We have no legal right to increase taxes on these properties; we have to work with the province. We are proud of the low lease rates we give to the farmers on organic and other diversified crops on land that Delta owns. We need to keep building our relationships with the different authorities out there.
Q: We have three council members running for provincial seats. Is that an issue?
We will have a by-election in the fall.
Q: Can we not have more bike paths in our community planning and not be overtaken by the automobile?
Our tax increase this year was the second lowest in the Lower Mainland - 1.9 per cent. One per cent is dedicated to roads and sidewalks and bike paths and .9 per cent goes towards general operations. The area that is critical to us in South Delta is Arthur Drive. You get very nervous on those narrow roads. They will be re-paved and we will widen the shoulder.
Q: Are we considering rapid transit any time in our near future?
We need an efficient connection to the Canada Line.
We are also studying light rail along Scott Road in the future. When we take the Canada Line to Vancouver, that is great, but we still have to get home. Ladner is different than Tsawwassen and Tsawwassen is different than North Delta. There is more density in North Delta and therefore we get 50 per cent of our tax base from North Delta.
Q: How do you keep track of all your projects, are you a "tech guy?"
My staff gives very good support on all issues. I'm an Apple Guy, Apple iPod.
I could not survive without the technology.
Q: Taxes and debt - how do we stand?
As mentioned, we have the second lowest tax increase in the Lower Mainland and as far as debt, we could pay what we owe off today if we wished. The goal of council has always been to make sure our services are equitable among our communities. We have to run on a balanced budget, not a deficit budget.
Q: What are your hobbies?
Work, work a lot, love work, great working relationships with our staff, go on holidays, take my computer, go to the gym. I enjoy going to the public hearings along with staff and like to make sure I talk to the residents personally and get their opinions on each project that affects them. I enjoy that part of the process.
