Budget
Directors at the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) were scheduled to hold pre-budget meetings Dec. 1 and 2.
The special sessions of the corporate and administrative services committee were to hear a budget overview from SCRD staff, and to hear 2017 budget requests from groups that get regional district funding.
The SCRD will go into the budget process looking at a 2.2 per cent inflation factor, a collective agreement that will see unionized employees get a 1.5 per cent wage increase (worth about $188,000 in total) and a new compensation scale for exempt employees such as managers and department heads that will add approximately $98,000 to the budget in 2017.
The proposed new spending initiatives for 2017 amount to nearly $6.5 million, the vast majority of which would be covered through grants and reserves if the projects are approved.
They include $275,000 to expand transit services and add 1.5 full-time-equivalent jobs to that department, to be paid for with a combination of taxes and funding from BC Transit, and water main upgrades in the Pender Harbour area worth $3.3 million that would be covered through reserves and federal/provincial grants.
The first round of budget deliberations is scheduled for late January 2017, with a second round in March.
Rec facilities capital renewal
At the Nov. 24 committee meeting, directors endorsed a proposal to redirect tax money collected to pay down a loan to fund capital improvements at recreation facilities into a special reserve.
The final payment on that loan will be made in late 2017, but instead of cancelling the $7.24 per $100,000 of assessed property improvements levy, the money will instead go into a pool to be used for “critical asset renewal.”
“I see this as a good proposal,” said board chair and Halfmoon Bay director Garry Nohr. “This would bring in a stepped process and we’re not going to notice any major changes over the next two years.”
Roberts Creek director Mark Lebbell supported the idea, but also said the SCRD will still have to make some difficult decisions about priorities, especially in light of the earlier decision to move ahead with replacing the hot tub in the aging Gibsons and District Aquatic Centre.
“I think the sooner we have those discussions, the better,” he said.
School trustee realignment
Directors have voted to support a realignment of the Trustee Electoral Areas (TEA) for School District No. 46 (SD46) to give the Sechelt Indian Government District (SIGD) its own TEA. In the current alignment, the SIGD is part of Rural Area 2, along with Roberts Creek, Elphinstone and West Howe Sound.
At their Nov. 24 committee meeting, the SCRD directors passed a motion that supports a separate SIGD TEA because “ensuring First Nations participation in educational governance is fundamental to implementing the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.”
The motion was adopted at the regular board meeting later that day.
The SD46 board has been asking other local governments for input ahead of planned public consultations on possible changes.
Broadband support
Pender Harbour director Frank Mauro, Ian Winn of West Howe Sound, and Halfmoon Bay director Garry Nohr are hoping to give a boost to efforts to get broadband Internet access for people in underserved areas.
Mauro put forward a motion at the Nov. 24 corporate and administrative services committee meeting that would give the directors authority to write letters of support for applicants to the federal or provincial government programs to fund rural broadband networks.
They also want to be able to arrange meetings with the ministers involved to make the case for expanded broadband on the Coast.
Nohr said he’s been getting positive signals from the province. “It’s a good opportunity to meet with the minister and maybe further this, because there are certain areas here on the Coast where we are not getting any [broadband] connectivity… If there’s an opportunity, I’d like us to take advantage of it.”
Mauro said he knows of at least two companies that already have applications in front of senior governments. “It’s important to us to move forward and support this. I think the momentum is gaining and we want to make sure we take full advantage of it.”
The SCRD directors’ effort to help secure funding for local projects comes as Telus moves to eliminate the dial-up Internet services still used by some rural residents.
Support for Stoyko event
SCRD directors have turned down a plan from staff to waive ice rental fees for Skate Canada and the Sunshine Coast Skating Club’s Elvis Rocks the Coast event because it would violate a longstanding policy.
The event, featuring Olympic medalist Elvis Stoyko, is planned for March 11 and 12, 2017 at the Gibsons and Area Community Centre.
SCRD staff had suggested the board could use a one-time “without prejudice” waiver to cancel the fee, but directors at the Nov. 24 committee meeting weren’t comfortable with that idea.
The policy against waiving facility rental fees, or providing grants to pay those fees, goes back to 2009. It doesn’t, however, restrict other financial support and the committee voted to have staff work with the skating club to see if the SCRD could give a grant that would fit with the policy.
“There must be other costs such as printing tickets, producing posters, that maybe we could give them a grant-in-aid to pay for instead of the facilities?” asked SCRD chair Garry Nohr.
Elphinstone director Lorne Lewis said he’s very keen to support the event, and asked directors to back his request to use $500 from his grant-in-aid budget for the skating club to use to help cover Stoyko’s appearance fee. He got a unanimous vote in favour.
Gibsons director Silas White told the committee the Town has already made a grant donation to support the event.
