Each year, November sets the stage for the future as the budget process becomes a key focus of Council and Staff. Developing and approving the budget is one of the most important responsibilities of Mayors and Councillors. Many factors impact the budget and various considerations must be taken into account as the budget is planned. It is a fine balance between moving forward important community projects, while ensuring critical asset and infrastructure maintenance and updates can be completed.
As guided by Council, with the development of strategic priorities, District departments start the budget process in October. Following the development of their budgets, Directors and Managers meet with the CAO and Finance management team to further review and revise these budgets. Finance then consolidates the department budgets, integrating key elements of the District’s finances, to create a draft budget that is presented to the public in the spring. The budget is reviewed and updated by staff and Council and reviewed in an open public meeting on an annual basis. Each municipality in British Columbia must prepare a five-year financial plan and update it every year. The Financial Plan must be adopted by Council in the form of a Bylaw on or before May 15.
Unlike federal and provincial governments, municipal governments must balance their budget to zero, which normally results in an annual tax increase. If you do not increase taxes, then you must find something to cut back on, as costs generally increase each year. Over the past couple of years, we have seen an unprecedented increase in inflation, with costs rising significantly on almost every item and project. This also impacts the budget as it takes more financial resources to complete projects every year that passes.
Municipal governments, in working with provincial and federal governments, provide many of the important services that impact local residents on a daily basis, from basic utility services to recreational opportunities. In the municipal context, we often use level of service to define the degree of services that residents expect to receive from their respective local governments. Residents express their expectation for desired level of service through their representatives, Mayor and Council, who then provide direction to the District’s administration and staff. As a rule of thumb, the higher the level of service expected by residents, the higher the budget is required to meet the service expectation.
On the horizon, residents can expect to hear more about a few major projects that will play a part in the development of the municipal budget. These projects include Fire Hall # 2 redevelopment, the new Wastewater Treatment Facility, Lions Park Electrical and much more.
Residents can expect various opportunities to learn and provide input into the budget through public engagement opportunities. In addition to specific budget consultation events, residents may attend Council meetings virtually via Zoom. Residents can ask questions of Council during Question Period at these meetings, as they relate to items on the agenda. In addition, information can also be found by following the District’s official Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Sparwood.BC and checking out the District of Sparwood website. It is important that residents are engaged at the start and provide Council with feedback.
As always, we welcome your questions and comments. We are excited for the bright future as we move forward with many exciting developments.
Post Date: December 4, 2023 | Category: Mayor's Monthly Editorial News & Updates