Monday, February 10, 2025
February 10, 2025

LCC shaves budget to 10% hike

Salt Spring’s Local Community Commission (LCC) members have brought an initial 13.2 per cent 2025 requisition increase for Capital Regional District (CRD) services down to 10 per cent, following a lengthy Jan. 30 meeting.

LCC services account for not quite half of a proposed $9.2-million requisition for Salt Spring CRD and Capital Regional Housing District services.

And if the cost of local government initiatives have often been equated to cups of coffee, commissioners’ efforts yielded a large latte — about $6.65 in savings — for the owner of an average-assessed residence.

The first part of their job was already made easier by a $40,000 reduction in transit costs thanks to BC Transit. But a further $69,000 in budget cutting was narrowly approved through a review of the 14 services under LCC purview. Proposals to cut funding came through motions put forward mainly by commissioner and CRD director Gary Holman, and not all of them were approved.

It was observed by commissioner Brian Webster at the beginning of the exercise that a $10,000 cut would reduce by $1.50 the property tax bill for the owner of an average-assessed residence, so hardly seemed worth the effort.

He said the LCC risked staying on a “requisition roller coaster” where failing to put enough money into its reserves one year resulted in pressure to hike taxes in subsequent years.

“I think the roller coaster is a bad thing for us to be on. We’re on it. We’ve got to get off. That takes some courage on our part . . . .”

Holman responded that “It’s not a matter of courage . . . it’s a matter of respect for taxpayers,” adding that the LCC will also be needing voter approval for three upcoming projects related to the pool, Salt Spring Island Multi Space roof and the Burgoyne liquid waste site.

He said even a 10 per cent requisition was three times the inflation rate, “and we are contributing to it.”

At the same meeting commissioners voted to keep the universal washroom at Centennial Park open until midnight on a one-year trial basis, at an additional cost of $5,000, which includes an expenditure for improved lighting in the area.

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