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Of the 12 recommendations in the 2018 budget staff report before council Tuesday, two measures require a two-thirds majority vote of council, called a supermajority. And the result of October’s byelection means that, for the first time in the nine years Vision Vancouver’s been in power, the Non-Partisan Association now has a fourth seat on council, meaning the party can effectively block a supermajority if they vote as a bloc.

Hector Bremner, the NPA candidate who won the October council byelection, said Monday: “It’s hard to say which way (Tuesday’s council vote) will go, but I certainly think we have some lines of questioning that are going to need answers.”

“Our concern is, and my personal concern is: are people getting a good value for their dollar?” Bremner said. “And at the moment, I just don’t know the answer to that question absolutely … There’s certainly some tough questions that need to be asked and answered tomorrow.”

Most council votes require only a simple majority of six votes out of 11 total (10 councillors and one mayor) to pass. But some decisions involving loans, grants and real estate require the supermajority. Now that the NPA has a fourth seat, Vision would need at least one of the NPA councillors’ votes to reach the supermajority.

NPA Coun. George Affleck said he believes that’s a good thing for accountability at city hall.

“We’re not going to use it irresponsibly,” Affleck said of the NPA’s power to decide a supermajority vote. “But it certainly requires that Vision think about things in a deeper way, in a more meaningful way, in a broader way for the City of Vancouver for all residents, before they start spending like drunken sailors.”