Downtown BIA board member Eric Armour said he hopes the District of Squamish town hall budget meeting Tuesday (March 31) wasn't an exercise in futility.
The District of Squamish is eyeing a four per cent property tax decrease and asked residents what services should be cut in order to meet their target. Over 130 residents attended the meeting and received a crash course in the municipal budget process - minus the numbers.
"This meeting is a good opportunity, and it has the potential to be encouraging if something actually comes out of it," Armour said. "There are a lot of meetings in Squamish where a lot of input happens and nothing actually gets resolved."
District staff set up information booths for every department, giving the meeting a tradeshow atmosphere where individuals were asked how they would prioritize items.
Coun. Rob Kirkham kicked off the community input frenzy by directing attendees to check out each display and provide feedback in terms of where money should be spent, and where cutbacks should happen.
"Tonight is all about feedback and we want you to give us some direction. Some areas are already operating on a bare bones budget while other areas may have room to manoeuvre," Kirkham said.
The majority of attendees were members of the Squamish Off-Road Cycling Association (SORCA) with one request: the creation of a trails master plan.
"A lot of people are here to put in a plug for trails because our town has forsaken them," said trails advocate John Harvey. "[But] I am challenged to see where we can reduce services."
SORCA members such as Megan Illingworth said trails should be a priority, but she added she also found it difficult to decide which municipal services to cut.
"That is where I am struggling a bit. It's tough to decide which services might not be as important to our community - unless we want to pay more taxes," Illingworth said.
The focus on trails was good news for Bob Kusch, Director of Recreation, Parks and Tourism for the district. If public input from the meeting is taken seriously, Kusch's department could see more funding.
"Trails are the hot topic this evening and surround the introduction of a trails master plan. We will need to determine the scope and council will have to make a decision based on input from the community and staff," Kusch said.
While other departments presented roles and responsibilities, Kusch's department provided concrete examples of services and costs that could be cut back. One such example was weekend maintenance at Centennial Fields during tournament season for a potential savings of $11,500.
According to a district-led, in-house telephone survey held in January, the public is actually supportive of a tax increase to maintain current service levels. That was a message echoed at the town hall budget meeting.
"Most people I have talked to are happy with a small increase in taxes to keep the services," said Harvey.
Gary Broeckling, the district's chief technology officer, said the opportunity to share with the public was beneficial as budget deliberations loom ahead.
"I think everyone is concerned how the budget will shape up, but we have to see where the process goes. It is a lot of money that has to be cut."
