Editor:
SCRD Board: Looking at huge budget increases, please deprioritize some activities!
In the SCRD 2024 budget discussions in December, we were told that if everything is approved, taxes would increase by 18 per cent. This is in addition to the already approved regional water service increases of 11 per cent and increases in most wastewater service areas. Ouch.
At the recent SCRD budget information session, the public was told about the huge costs coming up (increasing our water supply, new landfill, aging infrastructure, etc), but that the SCRD and board aren’t considering any significant cuts and reductions for lower priority areas. Really?
Heading into the second round of budget discussions on Feb. 5, we are at risk of just piling on more and more, pushing the budget and our taxes up, and spreading SCRD staff time and energy more thinly, with more burnout and less focus on important priorities like water and waste disposal.
In a time of escalating costs, looming recession, and more households struggling, I’m pretty sure that most residents would like to know that the SCRD is making hard budget decisions not only on where to spend, but also what to cut (as we are doing in our own households). Rather than wait until you are shocked by your next tax bill, now is the time for residents to contact your elected directors before the Feb. 5 budget meetings and ask them to do some serious prioritization – which means not only deciding where to put more tax money but also where to cut.
Darlene Tymo, Halfmoon Bay
