The District of Squamish is seeking community input on the draft Five-Year Financial Plan for 2022 to 2026. The plan proposes a property tax revenue requirement increase of 4.07% in 2022 to fund projects and services required to meet the growth pressures, facility renewal and demand for services that Squamish currently faces. Although the BC Assessment property assessment value notices are not yet available, and Council has not set the property tax rates, it is expected that the average residential property tax increase will be approximately $91.
“Council is very much looking forward to the public’s input into this draft budget,” says District of Squamish Mayor Karen Elliott. “It’s an ambitious plan that moves a number of large facilities projects forward, continues to action the master plans that guide our infrastructure work, while aiming to meet the many needs and requests of the community. It is not possible to accomplish everything and so some tough decisions have been made, however we think this budget strikes a good balance and we want to know what the community thinks about that.”
The Financial Plan is largely driven by District master plans, the current Council term Strategic Plan, and addressing safety or risk issues and legislative changes. The District has worked to present budget documents that improve transparency and public oversight of the financial planning process. The budget documents provide a long-term view of the District’s operating and capital costs and their associated tax impacts.
The largest capital projects funded in 2022 include:
In 2022, operating and capital projects that support climate response total $7.3M which include climate mitigation projects of $1.3M and climate adaptation projects of $6M.
On November 23, 2021, a Budget Public Information Event will be held to present budget information and invite questions and comments from the community. The event will be broadcast for a virtual audience and limited in-person public attendance will also be available at Municipal Hall (Council Chambers). A presentation by District of Squamish Finance staff will be followed by an open question-and-answer period.
5:30 p.m. Meet and greet at Municipal Hall (Foyer)
6 p.m. Online audience joins; A presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer period.
Pre-registration is required for those wishing to attend in person due to limited seating in Council Chambers.
Pre-registration can be completed here
The easiest way for the public to review the budget line items and descriptions of each is to explore the budget via an interactive online tool. The interactive tool groups items by special operating projects, the capital plan, and service level changes proposed for 2022 through 2027.
The online tool as well as detailed budget spreadsheets are available on the District’s new home for online public engagement – LetsTalkSquamish.ca. Residents can view budget materials and engage on this platform on their own time by sharing ideas, asking a question for District staff to answer, or posting a comment in one of the Discussion Forums.
Budget comments may also be emailed to budgetfeedback@squamish.ca.
Weigh in on Let's Talk Squamish
November 5, 2021
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