It is fairly easy to see why many B.C. municipalities have a so-called "infrastructure deficit." Infrastructure, like wastewater treatment plants, are unsexy projects that usually can't be completed in one municipal election cycle. Recreational facilities, on the other hand, are highly visible and appear, at least on the surface, to bring great benefits to the community. But do they

When a municipality such as Kamloops spends almost $40 million to build a sports facility to attract tournaments from all over Canada - if not North America - it is engaging in a very risky strategy. Kamloops could be left with its own Fast Ferry fiasco. Why Because the "if we built it they will come" strategy doesn't always work. It can saddle local ratepayers with huge bills that can only be paid by higher taxes in the future. Not only may this strategy leave local ratepayers with a legacy of debt, Kamloops now doesn't have the money to build the wastewater treatment plant it needs.

Kamloops' $106 million dollar municipal debt, about $1,325 per person, means more municipal tax dollars are being used to pay debt interest every year. The amount of interest Kamloops pays on its debt increased from $8.8 million in 2005 to $11.6 million in 2006 and may go to $15 million in 2007. So instead of building core infrastructure, city politicians are collecting tax dollars to pay bondholders.

Kamloops isn't the only municipality in danger of a Fast Ferry fiasco. About half of Kelowna's property tax increase is to build its $44 million Aquatic Centre. Vancouver, meanwhile, set aside $20 million for an Olympic legacy fund and is using $2 million of that to host dignitaries. Now, this probably won't result in a big new building, but it does give new meaning to the term "legacy."

Yes, sports facilities can be great community assets. But too often, politics trumps economics and ratepayers end up paying a lot more than what they bargained for. One way to bring these facilities to a community without creating a huge burden on ratepayers is with a public private partnership, or P3.

A P3 is a contract between a government and a private sector company to provide public infrastructure. A good example of how a P3 saved local ratepayers millions of dollars is in the new arena in Chilliwack. Chilliwack built a 5,500 seat arena for $25 million, and used only $6 million in public funds. The private sector invested the rest. The private partner, the Chilliwack Chiefs Development Corp., owned the town's Tier 2 B.C. Hockey League franchise and was involved with the WHL franchise ownership group. The WHL is a league in Western Canada, Washington and Oregon where junior players with professional aspirations play. Private investment and expertise not only saved ratepayers from debt and property tax increases, it ensured the future viability of the facility - Chilliwack now has a WHL franchise.

Let's compare the arena in Chilliwack with the arena in Abbotsford, a neighboring municipality. Abbotsford, in a fit of "arena envy" decided to build a 7,000 seat arena for $55 million. Like Kamloops, Abbotsford is doing this entirely with public funds. Abbotsford's property taxes, unsurprisingly, may go up by 16 percent this year.

P3s are not a magic bullet but they do provide a way to build infrastructure without saddling ratepayers with higher debt and property taxes. Governments' shift away from their core mandate has created an infrastructure deficit in B.C. Private sector money and expertise can help both remedy that deficit without increasing taxes and make these projects a financial success.