Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan’s Project Civil City could take a big bite from the Olympic Legacy Reserve Fund, which critics have described as a “slush fund” for the NPA–controlled city council.

COPE Coun. David Cadman told the Straight that Sullivan had earmarked $1 million for Project Civil City from the legacy fund even before council had approved the creation of the $20-million Olympic kitty.

“At this point, we don’t know what the expenditures are for,” Cadman said of the reserve fund. “The only thing we know is that the mayor has already designated ?$1 million for his [civil-city] project to come from this Olympic legacy.”

Cadman said that the legacy fund is a “slush fund that will be available for whatever projects are chosen.”

“Before we even approved of it [legacy fund], he’s indicating an allocation from it,” Cadman said. “It makes a mockery of the budget process.”

City watchdog Rider Cooey described the reserve fund this way to the Straight: “If a slush fund is a pile of money that you can use any way you want, then it must be a slush fund.” Cooey pointed out that because the NPA controls council, the party can decide how the fund will be spent. “They have the vote,” he said. “They can approve any kind of disbursement that they want to.”

Dave Rudberg is the city’s general manager for Olympic and Paralympic operations. He prepared a report recommending council approval for setting up the fund, which would be financed with transfers of $5 million each year from 2007 to 2010. On January 16, the matter was referred to a future meeting.

“If there’s a civil-city project that council wants to fund out of this Olympic legacy reserve, then they certainly can do that,” Rudberg told the Straight.

Rudberg did not identify the potential projects to be funded by the legacy fund. “We’re in the process of negotiating for certain programs and projects,” he said. “If I talk to council about the details of these programs prematurely, it could jeopardize the negotiations.”

NPA Coun. Kim Capri told the Straight that council had asked city manager Judy Rogers to make a report on how to achieve the targets of Project Civil City. The project, which Capri helped Sullivan unveil last November 27, 2006, aims to address the supposed worsening problem of public disorder.