OneCity on the budget and voting: a readable budget, water meters, ranked ballots
OneCity's budget and ballot plan would scale participatory budgeting citywide, explore a progressive property tax, restore the living wage, introduce water meters, fix pipes early, bring in a ranked ballot for mayor and support a citizens' assembly on voting before 2030.
CITY COUNCIL
The aim of A Plan to Fix the Budget & Make Your Vote Matter, in the party's words
OneCity today released A Plan to Fix the Budget & Make Your Vote Matter , the party's plan to make the City budget something you can read, something you help write, and something that reflects what Vancouverites actually believe our city owes its people.
OneCity released its Plan to Fix the Budget & Make Your Vote Matter on September 29, 2026. The party contrasts it with what it calls ABC's "Zero Means Zero" budget, which it describes as service cuts. Each part of the plan has its own page here.
The first part is about how the budget is written and paid for: participatory budgeting, a plain-language budget, a progressive property tax and fair annual tax rates. The second is about what the money buys: the UNDRIP Action Plan, a test before service cuts, a living wage, early pipe repairs, water meters and shared services. The third is about voting: a ranked ballot for mayor, proportional representation and a citizens' assembly.
Council sets the property tax rate and approves the budget, so the first two parts are mostly its own decisions. Vancouver's election rules are in the Vancouver Charter, a provincial law, so the voting changes would need the Province.
3 CHAPTERS
Every chapter in A Plan to Fix the Budget & Make Your Vote Matter
Budgeting with Vancouverites' Values
OneCity budget plan: participatory budgeting and a progressive property tax
- Participatory Budgeting
- A Readable Budget
- Balancing Revenues
Public Dollars for Thriving Communities
OneCity on city spending: living wage, water meters and early pipe repairs
- Supporting & Continuing the UNDRIP Action Plan
- Protecting Against Service Cuts
- Restoring the Living Wage
Make Your Vote Matter
OneCity on voting: a ranked ballot for mayor and a citizens' assembly by 2030
- An instant runoff ranked ballot for mayor
- New voting methods such as proportional representation
- A Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform
WHO WOULD HAVE TO ACT
Who holds the power for these 14 commitments
Each chapter page names the body for every commitment and gives the reason in one sentence.
ON THE BALLOT
The OneCity candidates behind this
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Questions about A Plan to Fix the Budget & Make Your Vote Matter
What is OneCity's plan for the Vancouver city budget?
OneCity would scale participatory budgeting citywide, publish the budget in plain language line by line, explore a progressive property tax, restore the living wage, fix pipes before they break and introduce water meters (OneCity budget and ballot plan, September 29, 2026).
Does OneCity want ranked choice voting in Vancouver?
Yes. OneCity commits to an instant runoff ranked ballot for mayor and to new voting methods such as proportional representation, and would support a Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform ahead of the 2030 election (OneCity budget and ballot plan, September 29, 2026).
What does OneCity say about ABC's budget?
OneCity describes ABC's "Zero Means Zero" budget as service cuts. Its own plan would protect services through what it calls fair annual property tax rates and a Public Services Protection Test before any cut (OneCity budget and ballot plan, September 29, 2026).
Would OneCity bring in water meters in Vancouver?
Yes. OneCity says water meters would lower utility costs for average residents and make the largest water users, such as mansion owners, pay their share (OneCity budget and ballot plan, September 29, 2026).
Can Vancouver change its voting system on its own?
No. Vancouver's election rules are in the Vancouver Charter, a provincial law, so OneCity's ranked ballot and proportional voting would need the Province to act. Council can set up a citizens' assembly to study the question (OneCity budget and ballot plan).
Sources
Every commitment on this page comes from the party's own material, marked SAYS SO ITSELF. It proves what the party says it would do. Who holds each power is our own addition, from the sources listed after it.
- OneCity Announces its Plan to Fix the Budget & Make Your Vote Matter SAYS SO ITSELFOneCity · published · checked
- City of Vancouver report on the 2018 election review, December 15, 2020 (archived copy), showing election rules set in the Vancouver Charter and changes requested from the Province City of Vancouver · checked