We’d like to take this opportunity to provide context and further explanation of some key elements of the budget, and respond to some of the themes we’re hearing through various forums throughout the community.
At the April 25, 2013 Special Council Meeting, Council passed the first three readings of the budget bylaw. The following chart reflects the recent changes made to bring down the average Residential assessment to a 10.2% increase and the average Business assessment to a 10.4% increase. Actual increases will vary by property owner based on their change in assessment base from 2012 to 2013.
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Average $ Increases: |
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Residential Assessment | 10.2% | $160/yr, $13/mo |
Average single family dwelling | 9.0% | $182/yr, $15/mo |
Average residential strata unit | 9.7% | $120/yr, $10/mo |
Utilities | 1.4% | $322/yr, $27/mo |
Major industry (Port) | 1.8% | $6,573/yr, $548/mo |
Light industry | 16.8% | $810/yr, $68/mo |
Business assessment | 10.4% | $560/yr, $47/mo |
Forests-managed | -85.4% | -$32,991/yr |
Recreation/N.P | -26.5% | -$238/yr |
Farm | -90.4% | -$358/yr |
*Each property owner will be impacted differently depending on the change in assessment of their property.
Residential makes up 85% of the total tax base in Squamish, and is responsible for 62% of the property tax burden.
Business makes up 13% of the total tax base, and is responsible for 26% of the property tax burden.
The remaining 2% comprises of the remaining Property Classes: Utilities, Light Industry, Major Industry, Managed Forests, Recreation/Non-profit, and Farm. These classes are responsible for the remaining 12% of the property tax burden.
The 10.1% increase previously referred to is the increase in property tax revenue required for an 11.7% overall budget increase over 2012, minus the overall non-market change in assessment base of 1.6% (i.e. growth among various property classes within the assessment base).
Due to distribution of that growth, and legal and policy caps on most policy classes, the change for each individual property class varies.
A $200,000 increase in expenses has an approximate impact of a 1% increase in property taxes.
Core services that the District provides include:
The ‘core’ budget, as referred to in the budget process, relates to the cost of maintaining existing service levels as were provided in 2012. This excludes special projects and new initiatives.
Through the ‘pursuit of excellence in government’ philosophy introduced with the Service Squamish Initiative, District managers review programs and budgets annually in preparation for the coming year to maximize efficiencies and identify opportunities for cost sharing, partnerships etc.
Periodic and ongoing Core Service Reviews will continue to take place to ensure departments remain “right-sized” to meet the service demands of the community, as well as to ensure efficiencies and improvements are continuously sought.
Since 2010, the District of Squamish has been implementing the Service Squamish Initiative. Core Service Reviews have been undertaken for every business unit within the District.
The Squamish Service Initiative:
Systematic evaluations of the District’s business units took place over a one to three month period and reviewed:
Recommendations were provided to:
Yes. Core Service Review reports are available for viewing on our website.
Reviews have been completed, and recommendations implemented for:
The Core Service Reviews incorporated large scale public consultation to determine the type/level of service the community was seeking in certain areas. For example:
Results from the Core Service Reviews include:
Cuts can always be made. However the question is where does the community want to see cuts?
Through extensive public input into our operations through surveys (i.e. 800 survey responses for the Recreation Services Core Service Review), constant requests for services, and the demand for the District to take a greater role in such areas as economic development, building and planning services, trails and parks, we hear that the community wants more from District staff, not less.
Click graph to enlarge.
The District employs staff in the following general classifications – full-time, part-time, seasonal and casual.
The best way to measure the increase in staff is to measure by “Full Time Equivalents” (FTEs). This figure incorporates all the above classifications (full-time, part-time, seasonal, casual), and provides a figure that measures these employees as if they were combined together to represent full-time staff. For example, two part-time staff each working 20 hours equals one Full Time Equivalent or FTE.
The number of FTEs have increased by 3.8% since 2007.
Click graph to enlarge.
Businesses are ‘for profit’, and therefore implement initiatives solely to make a profit.
Local Government provides services for the community that do not necessarily have revenue sources to cover the total cost of the service. Such services are designed to improve the quality of life that is available to be enjoyed by all residents. The degree to which user pay is applied is a matter of policy, and establishes a base for delivery of services considered essential for all residents. Although Local Government may choose to implement user fees for some optional services, they’re often subsidized by taxation to make them affordable for all residents.
Services that charge a user fee range from levying nominal fees to full recovery. Such services include recreation, ice arena, libary, planning services, building services, water, sewer and solid waste.
Through the 2010 Service Squamish Initiative and Core Service Reviews, the District has adopted a philosophy of achieving government excellence through efficiencies in operations. At the core of all decisions and spending is to understand what the business case is for that particular initiative.
$153,500 annually is contributed toward the Adventure Centre's operation and upgrades.
2013 will see an additional $52,000 spent on building maintenance and upgrades to increase the energy efficiency of the building and protect the District's asset.
The Adventure Centre provides space for the Visitor Information Centre and leases space to Tourism Squamish, Chamber of Commerce, a coffee shop and souvenir store.
December 9, 2024 at 6:50 PM
Information regarding ongoing disruptions due to Canada Post strike action
The District is reminding residents of ongoing disruptions as a result of the Canada Post strike action.
December 3, 2024 at 7:32 PM
District seeks community input to shape future parking management in Downtown Squamish and tourism-based locations
The District of Squamish is seeking public input as it develops a plan to manage Downtown and tourism-based parking.
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