Councillors in Gibsons continued their budget deliberations March 10, but had to put off one of the biggest decisions they’re facing.
The committee of the whole meeting was dedicated to a review of funding requests from community organizations as well as general budget items related to staffing, support for affordable housing projects, and the tax implications of having to contribute directly to policing services.
When the Town crosses the 5,000 population threshold, which is likely to happen in the next census, it will have to either establish its own municipal police force or enter into a contract with the province for continued RCMP service, with the Town responsible for 70 per cent of the cost.
A special committee looking into the transition recommended continuing with RCMP service through the province for 2022 and beyond.
A report from director of finance Lorraine Coughlin prepared for the March 10 meeting estimates the cost of the new policing arrangement will run from $700,000 to $1 million.
“Given that a one per cent increase in taxation currently equates to approximately $32,000 in additional funds collected,” the report says, “the resulting tax increase required to raise these funds ranges from 24 per cent to 32 per cent.”
The question facing council for the 2020 budget is whether to start raising taxes now to create a reserve that will help reduce the sticker shock of a massive tax increase in a single year.
“Communities in similar situations have chosen to phase in the tax increase several years before the potential change,” Coughlin’s report says. “In the Town’s case, there are two taxation years available ahead of the next census in which to incorporate a tax increase specific to policing.”
The report suggests a five per cent increase in 2020 and 2021 for the policing reserve would cost a typical residential property owner about $50 per year and a commercial property owner around $240 per year.
Coughlin’s report also points out that hitting a population of 5,000 will also reduce the Town’s eligibility for certain provincial grants, but under the new policing formula the Town will be able to receive traffic fine revenue, an amount estimated at between $55,000 and $70,000 per year.
Although the committee had to wrap up its meeting before it got to the policing tax item, the likelihood of the increase being added to the 2020 budget hung over some of the other discussions.
At a couple of points during presentations on the community organization and staffing requests, Coun. Aleria Ladwig said she felt a decision on the policing tax should be considered before looking at anything else that might need to be funded through a tax increase.
The prospect of needing to raise taxes for policing costs also factored in to the committee’s discussion on the request to contribute more to police-based victim services on the Sunshine Coast.
Right now the program, run under a contract between the province and Sunshine Coast Community Services, is funded by roughly $73,000 from the province and yearly grants of about $42,500 from the District of Sechelt, which is part of a cost-sharing agreement because it has a population over 5,000, and small grants-in-aid from Gibsons and the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD).
When Gibsons reaches the 5,000 population threshold, it will have to enter into a similar agreement on victim services as Sechelt.
Denise Woodley, who coordinates the program for Community Services, presented a proposal that would see Sechelt, Gibsons and the SCRD pay into the program on a per-capita basis, with Gibsons’ share coming out at $11,421.
Ladwig said she favoured a smaller contribution from Gibsons for now, knowing that a larger amount will have to be considered when the other policing costs kick in.
Mayor Bill Beamish suggested that while he’s not comfortable with considering the $11,421 request, victim services should be added again this year to the list of possible grants of assistance, which will be considered at a later date.
“It’s a challenge … but that being said, we can certainly do more than [the $400] we did last year,” he said.
Discussion of the potential tax increase for policing, meanwhile, has been rescheduled for the March 17 committee of the whole meeting.
