In the District of Sechelt's low-key $12.3 million budget for 2008, funding for the vision plan is one of the few items that stands out.
A $107,500 sum will help District planners Ray Parfitt and Andre Boel bring in outside help to shepherd the vision plan through a two-year-long implementation process. Council will be asked to commit the same amount next year to pay the estimated $215,000 cost. Director of finance Doug Chapman characterizes this year's budget as one that helps the District "catch up and manage growth." For the average Sechelt homeowner, taxes will stay at the status quo. While they will face a one per cent ($9) tax increase since last year, for a total of $1,003 in taxes to the District, they will still be paying $438 less than an average Gibsons homeowner will pay to their Town.
The tax difference is attributable in part to the assessed values of homes within the District of Sechelt, which administrator Bill Brown noted are generally less than for homes of the same size in Gibsons. Aside from the 5,181 residential taxpayers, the District also draws revenue from 267 businesses, 35 recreational facilities, 29 utilities, 24 farms, 13 light industries and one community forest. But all Sechelt residents will feel a significant increase in regional taxes. To help cover the cost of expansion at St. Mary's Hospital, the District will pay $200,000 more to the regional hospital district, while Sunshine Coast Regional District water fees will also increase by $100,000. Residents will also pay 14.5 per cent more for fire department services, and 2.5 per cent more for school taxes.
Sewer issues continue to loom large in the near future for the District. This year's budget includes a $1.069 million capital cost towards engineering work aimed at designing a 1,000-unit sewer treatment plant at a yet-to-be-disclosed location. Chapman said the modular expansion is a "small, financially feasible step" towards bringing the sewer capacity in line with the population. An accumulation of sewer development cost charges in the District's coffers from past years will cover initial capital costs of the new plant at no expense to taxpayers, he added. While a potential $8 million contribution towards new sewer facilities could still materialize if council approves the 1,600-unit Silverback development in Sandy Hook, Chapman said this year's capital budget won't change pending the results of the May 7 council meeting.
Chapman noted the budget items follow council's stated 2008 priorities: work towards expanding the Sechelt airport, sewer collection lines for West Sechelt, developing life cycle budgets for roads, implementing the vision plan and revitalizing the Downtown Village.
"Our emphasis on life-cycle planning tends to minimize tax spikes related to big-ticket items," Chapman said. "The budget we're doing now also sets the direction for 2009 and 2010."
The District expects to receive a $10,000 provincial infrastructure planning grant, as they have for the past five years, but the main focus on 2008 grant applications will be for extending the sewer lines in West Sechelt, Brown said.
Outside of municipal operations, the biggest chunk of the District's operating budget is the $1.8 million (19 per cent) allocated to pay policing costs. In 2007, the province began shifting the costs of RCMP detachments to municipalities; how much of the cost is shifted now depends on the size of a municipality's population. As a result, the District pays 70 per cent of the cost for each RCMP member, whereas the smaller Town of Gibsons pays only 35 per cent for their RCMP members.
While community input into the budget concluded last September, bylaws to be introduced for first reading at the District's May 7 council meeting will be available for public inspection on the District's website today (Friday).
