麻豆精选 council got a glimpse of what the city鈥檚 2024 budget will look like at its Monday (Dec. 4) regular meeting.
Council and staff will go over the document item by item during an all-day session on Dec. 7.
鈥淭oday is the day we talk more at a high level and why we think the budget presented on Thursday makes sense for the city and the citizens of the community,鈥� said Joe Sass, chief financial officer.
Included in the budget is a proposed 4.76 per cent property tax hike. It鈥檚 the second lowest proposed increase in the province, behind Burnaby, according to Sass.
If approved, it would result in a $112.95 increase ($9.41 per month) for a single-detached home with an average value determined by BC Assessment.
The proposed increase includes the one per cent public safety levy which was endorsed by council in 2023.
Sass added that new construction revenue will provide additional opportunities in 2024.
鈥淲hat that means to me is that it is likely that there is opportunity, as we move forward, to rely a little bit more on new construction revenue as a buttress to taxation than we have in the past.鈥�
The 2024 net tax demand for the city is $190 million, however, new construction revenue estimated at $4.98 million reduces the demand to $185 million.
Coun. Ron Cannan questioned staff about finding efficiencies in the budget, comparing population growth to expansion at city hall.
鈥淚鈥檝e got numbers from 2013 to 2023 that our growth was 24 per cent, but we grew by 238 more FTE鈥檚 (full-time employment) or 29 per cent plus contractors.鈥�
Sass replied that those percentages are 鈥榠n the ballpark.鈥�
鈥淚f you want to build more in the future than you did in the past, the only way you can accomplish that is by growing staff,鈥� he added.
The city has 114 capital projects planned in 2024 with a total cost of $140 million, which is one-quarter of the total budget.
鈥淪ome of the capital projects span multiple years as a project is planned, designed, and constructed,鈥� said Joel Shaw, capital planning manager.
He said the city has ambitious plans over the next decade to deliver on community expectations.
鈥淥n average the city plans to build 60 per cent more infrastructure in the next ten years compared to the previous ten years.鈥�
Coun. Maxine DeHart pointed out that 麻豆精选 is in much better shape than many other B.C. municipalities.
鈥淲ith their extreme taxes and a lot of that was because of infrastructure and not having a plan for infrastructure for many, many years.鈥�
麻豆精选 residents can watch budget deliberation on Dec. 7 in council chambers, or online, starting at 9 a.m.
READ MORE: Psych assessment ordered for 麻豆精选 woman accused of murder, mutilation
READ MORE: New health centre fully operational in 麻豆精选鈥檚 Rutland
