Sechelt council is expected to approve a mid-January e-Town Hall to discuss the 2019 budget when it meets Dec. 19.
Councillors got a look at the preliminary budget during the Dec. 12 committee of the whole meeting.
The finance department is proposing a property tax increase of 11.81 per cent next year, which breaks down to 8.81 per cent to cover cost increases to maintain the district’s current levels of service and three per cent for “tangible capital asset repair, refurbishment and replacement,” director of finance Doug Stewart told councillors.
The proposed addition of three new staff positions is one of the factors driving the tax increase.
They include an administrative assistant to work in the communications department and look after facility bookings, taking on some work currently done under contract, at a cost around $65,000.
The engineering department is asking for a development engineer “responsible for working with developers and their engineers to ensure all technical reviews, inspections and approvals occur through the land planning process,” at an estimated cost of $127,353 per year.
The third proposed new position is a building inspector, which would add about $111,605 to the budget.
The budget will also have to account for an overall increase in salaries and benefits of $330,878 to reflect wage increases in the collective agreement with unionized staff, an expected cost of living increase for management staff, and the fact new full-time positions in public works and parks added in 2018 will need to be funded for a full year.
According to Stewart, every percentage increase in Sechelt’s property taxes brings in about $85,000 in revenue. The draft budget also anticipates about $70,000 in new building permit revenue and an additional $147,000 from new properties added to the tax rolls in the past year.
Stewart estimates an 11.81 per cent increase would work out to about $171 extra on the municipal part of the tax bill for a typical single-family residential home valued at $636,712 with a 2017 tax bill of $2,308.
If the home is hooked into the sewer system, the property owner will also be hit with $20 more in sewer user fees, bringing the total increase to $191.
The draft budget does not anticipate any increase in the sewer parcel tax or solid waste fees, but Stewart’s report notes, “the solid waste contract expires at the end of 2018 and the fees are expected to change with the upcoming new contract.”
As the budget process continues, council will also be expecting more details on cost breakdowns between septic dumping and conventional sewage treatment.
“We haven’t seen an increase in the septage fees in a long time, yet we are receiving from all up and down the Coast,” said Mayor Darnelda Siegers. “When we’re looking at an increase in our sewer rates, I think we need to see that breakout because we need to know that it’s actually being collected from the right areas.”
Councillors had few other questions about the draft budget, although Coun. Alton Toth said he wanted more detail on two of the proposed new staff positions.
“In 2005 we had peak building permits. How many building inspectors did we have in 2005? And if we’re looking at a decrease in big projects, how come we have to add a development engineer?”
When council meets Dec. 19 it will be asked to approve the public engagement strategy, including an e-Town Hall on Jan. 17, 2019.
The draft financial plan is already on the district’s website, www.sechelt.ca
The deadline for budget adoption is May 15, 2019.
