The Cariboo Regional District's (CRD) public consultation meeting at Creekside Seniors Activity Centre on Jan. 30 revealed its preliminary budget and expected impacts on taxation.
Only four residents turned out to hear about the budget and make comments.
The regional district's chief administrative officer Janis Bell and chief financial officer Scott Reid made the formal presentations, supported by board chair Al Richmond.
CRD Area L Director Bruce Rattray, Area G Director Margo Wagner and 100 Mile House Mayor Mitch Campsall also gave explanations as the meeting progressed.
Bell began by talking about the portion of taxation related to the value assigned to properties by BC Assessment Authority.
“It does play a role in what portion of taxes that you pay.... We just wanted you to be aware that not everything you pay comes to the [CRD],” said Bell.
“Certainly, a significant portion goes to the provincial government in the form of school taxes, to pay for police financing and rural tax to the province [toward road maintenance].”
She explained CRD taxes pay for CRD-provided and regional-hospital services.
Then, Reid delivered the good news that CRD taxes are going down.
He said the current operating surplus of $8.5 million is essentially the same as last year, but the tax requisition portion of the budget had dropped to $21.2 million. This is a decrease of 1.2 per cent from 2012's taxes – an improvement over the zero-increase target set last fall.
Along with all the other pieces, Reid explained it adds up to a total budget of about $38.4 million – down from $42.1 million in 2012.
This change is primarily due to the reduction in debt payments from costs incurred while building the 100 Mile House and Quesnel library branches a few years ago. Reid noted the costs are being paid down a couple of years sooner than expected.
He added the library and recreation functions account for 28 per cent of all 2013 spending allocations – a big drop from last year's 38 per cent.
Other major funding segments will be used for the CRD's functions of environmental (at 20 per cent -up about four per cent); and protective services and general/administration, both of which remain stable at 14 per cent each.
Reid also demonstrated how much tax per $100,000 of a property's assessed value landowners can expect to pay for each service they receive.
Those in the Forest Grove Fire Volunteer Department zone will see a tax hit up $21.50 per $100,000 over last year, which he noted wasn't prompted by an increased cost (that is just 2.4 per cent).
“There's a significant decrease in the assessed values in the properties in that service area. They dropped from roughly $92 million to $82 million from 2012 to 2013.”
Reid added most fire department budgets all across the board are up “a little bit” when compared to other services.
“That's primarily part of our longer term planning and making sure we have sufficient capital reserves in there ... [for] capital requirements, so we are not caught in a bind down the road.”
He noted grants for assistance in each electoral area will not change much in 2013.
While street lighting costs are going up in those areas that have and pay for them, Reid said it is partly due to electricity costs, and partly because this function has been depleting CRD budget reserves in past years.
Overall taxation for 2013, including both CRD and hospital services, is down about $450,000, Reid noted, reiterating the role the library debt has made.
People who did not attend the meeting still have an opportunity to review the preliminary budget, including tax rates specific to each area, and may then provide input before it is adopted by the board.
The full presentation, a budget booklet and a survey for comments is online at www.cariboord.bc.ca.
Further information is also available by calling toll-free at 1-800-665-1636.