Brent Richter/Staff Writer
Round two of the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) budget is in the books. Residents are looking at some decreases in services and staff and a hike in the SCRD portion of property taxes.
After round two, residents can expect a 13.5 per cent increase in the regional district portion of tax. John France, chief administrative officer for the SCRD, said it was possible for the board to bring that number down by another one or two per cent, but anything more than that would require "deep structural" cuts.
France said this round of the budget was far tenser than round one, often with budget meetings lasting from early morning until 10 p.m. at night.
"I think the board understands the width and breadth of the issues, and I think they also recognize how difficult it was, and would be, to make finds of this magnitude," France said. "It was huge. Anybody that we spoke to here [said] this is the most difficult year we've had in eight years."
On the chopping block so far is a reduction in staffing and hours at the Gibsons pool and a reduction in HandiDART transportation.
Currently the plan is to reduce hours by closing the pool on evenings and weekends. This would affect open/family swim times and aquatic exercise classes and will result in one SCRD employee being laid off. That employee will have the option of transferring to another job within the SCRD due to seniority.
Plans are to reduce HandiDART transportation from two buses down to one and make the single bus more efficient. This will also result in one employee being laid off who will have the option to "bump" to another position with the SCRD.
France said most employees who are losing their jobs due to cutbacks would be part-time, on-call and relief workers.
"The board wanted to protect staff wherever it could," France said. The regional district found itself with troubled finances this year for a number of reasons. Mainly it is due to a ballooning recreation budget, a substantial loss in revenue from tipping fees at landfill sites and less revenue from permitting and fees. All of the above, according to France, can be linked to the current economic recession. Since construction and renovation on the Coast have fallen from their peaks, there has been far less construction refuse to be disposed of at SCRD facilities. France suspects the recession is also keeping people at home and away from recreational facilities run by the SCRD.
France said despite all the work that has gone into balancing the books for this year, the SCRD may not be out of the financial woods yet."One of the issues I have, and we've said this to the board, is that we've cut the budget so badly this year that next year is going to be a real challenge. So this is not a single-year event. This is a two-year event," France said.
At budget public meetings held by the SCRD on Wednesday, residents turned out to voice concerns.
Showing up with a group 25 strong were women who take the aqua-NIA class at the Gibsons pool. The reduction of hours and staffing at the pool mean the class would have to be cut.
Members of the group argued that the program was, for many of them, the only viable exercise they could do and it was unfair to cut access to the pool simply based on the fact it has low attendance. Each visitor the pool gets costs taxpayers about $40 in subsidies.
Another attendee who receives kidney dialysis raised a concern that cutting HandiDART services would make it even harder for some to get access to medical services.
Brian Shoji, manager of infrastructure services for the SCRD, assured the woman that patients requiring HandiDART services to get regular medical treatment would not be affected by the service reduction.
The meeting did produce some satisfaction in that SCRD staff were able to tell attendees that the Gibsons pool decision has not be finalized and a special meeting will be held Monday at 1:30 p.m. at the Gibsons and Area Community Centre where residents can contribute ideas they have to make the pool more viable.
Paul Fenwick, general manager of community services for the SCRD, spoke at the meeting, trying to reassure attendees that cuts to recreational programs were not arrived at simply on a cost basis.
"We're not just bureaucrats who only look at numbers. We recognize the value at the human level of these programs. That's why we designed them." Fenwick said.
SCRD board chair Donna Shugar described round two of the budget at "gruelling," but said she was very proud of staff and the board for being able to trim expenses and bring the property tax increase down. Going into round one, the projected tax increase was 24.9 per cent.Shugar said the board has not yet revisited any plans to let the tax rate remain higher in favour of keeping services at their current levels, but it was something the board may consider.
"We will be having discussions about that [Thursday] and during the budget process. So, we haven't revisited anything yet, but it ain't over till it's over," Shugar said.
Shugar said there may have been some misunderstanding at the time among board members about what cutting hours at the Gibsons pool would mean to the programs that are "very dear to people" and she welcomed more input.
"We have a commitment to maintaining high service levels and we expect, if we have to cut services, the people who depend on those services will let us know." Shugar said. "We have to listen to what their concerns are and find a middle point."
The third and final round of 2009 budget meetings is scheduled to begin Monday. All budget meetings are open to the public, and SCRD staff and directors welcome public input.
