After a public consultation on Tuesday evening, the District of Squamish is preparing for the final steps to approve the 2018 budget.
To meet the needs of the 2018 budget, a tax revenue increase of six per cent needs to be implemented, District staff told the audience of about eight who came out to learn about the budget and share their views at municipal hall on Tuesday night.
Property tax rates are not part of the Financial Plan draft so far and will be reviewed in April.
“The financial plan is where we actually have to prioritize and balance all those competing interests, and all the ideas, we balance all that against affordability and trying to ensure that we have financial sustainability,” said District CFO Christine Mathews.
The District’s budget process is expected to wrap up in the spring. The five-year financial plan still needs to pass through a final approval step before passing onto the first, second and third reading process.
The province-mandated deadline to have the budget fully approved is May 14.
Water fees are currently set to increase by 2 per cent, while solid waste fees will increase around 2.6 per cent, depending on the size of the tote.
There is no change for sewage fees.
Those service fee increases will mean the average Squamish household will pay an additional $15.32 per year, according to calculations by District staff.
This year’s budget includes funding for both a new full-time firefighter position and a new full-time RCMP officer that will focus on sexual assault and domestic violence.
The RCMP requested the position during a budget workshop in December.
Normally council’s goal is to alternate spending on police and fire services, but Heintzman said both organizations made compelling cases for a funding increase.
To offset the cost, the new firefighting position will be instated on May 1, while the new police officer will commence on July 1.
Other new expenses this year include increases to the transportation budget, the growth of municipal government, upgrades to Brennan Park and investment in a new cemetery.
BC property assessments, which were updated in January, will also have an impact, but residential and commercial mill rates will be decided in April.
Concern was expressed during the meeting by a business owner on Cleveland Avenue who reported their assessment jumped by more than 60 per cent.
Mathews said that jump is something staff will consider when they look at rates for commercial properties.
“We try our best to be reasonable and fair to businesses as much as possible,” she said.
According to BC Assessments, the important factor in determining municipal tax rates is not how much an assessed value has changed, but how that assessed value has changed in comparison to the average change for the property class.
Public questions about the budget ranged from concerns about wildfire to questions about accessibility.
Budget line items relating to arts in the community include $15,000 earmarked in both 2018 and 2019 for the restoration of the Stan Clarke Park mural. Special projects include an Arts
Council partnership and an increase in the public art reserve.
In the 2018 budget, $75,000 is also set aside for a major public art project.
Members of the public can still weigh in on the budget by sending official comments on the District website at squamish.ca/budget.
While questions about both highway improvements and hospital service levels were raised at the meeting, those issues fall under provincial funding obligations. The B.C. government is expected to release their budget numbers in February.
