Gibsons council is one step closer to an approved budget, now that the committee of the whole has sent its final budget recommendations to council. At the March 19 committee of the whole meeting, the committee passed a recommendation to prepare the budget-related bylaws with an annual tax rate increase of eight per cent (three per cent for general operations and five per cent for future policing costs).
Director of infrastructure services Trevor Rutley told council there are roughly 60 projects in the five-year capital project plan, and approximately half of them are carry over projects. Of the carry over projects, around half are completed or will be completed by the end of quarter two. The most impressive part of the project list, Rutley said, is that it is entirely funded without taxation.
The Healthy Harbour project is the only 2024 project that was shown as funded through taxation, but staff suggested funding it through accumulated surplus so it won’t trigger a tax increase. For the following three years of the project, council has directed staff to incorporate the Healthy Harbour project into the operating budget. (Staff said that a meeting is scheduled to review the proposal and it will then be brought forward to council.)
Some of the 2024 projects on the list include natural asset projects that are funded through grants. The 2023 grant for the restoration of Charman and Goosebird creeks has $5.3 million remaining, and there’s a $2 million grant for foreshore improvements. The White Tower Park pond project is on track to be completed by the end of quarter two, Rutley said, and also has funds remaining.
After listing additional projects such as the Official Community Plan update, a parking study, and a transportation master plan, Rutley said, “We’re certainly excited and at times overwhelmed by the amount of grant funding that we’ve been able to receive and what that’s able to do for us.”
When asked about debt — which currently sits at around $10 million of incurred debt — staff said the water and sewer funds are putting a lot of pressure on the debt, and is where the majority of debt funding requests come from. Staff said the drainage and road improvements are tied to the watermain upgrade project scheduled for 2025. “The condition of the watermain on McCall Lane is quite poor and certainly has been the source of a few call outs to do some leak repairs…” Rutley said, adding that they’re seeking to replace it as soon as possible to “avoid what could potentially be a pretty devastating leak were there to be a massive failure of that watermain.”
Rutley also said he considers the estimate to be pretty high and hopes to knock down that number.
Mayor Silas White said he would like to have a conversation this term about discussing priority needs in the community. Until then, he said, he thinks they should “focus on asset management with our capital plan and not be planning for parks and pickleball courts.” He suggested removing some items including the consultation and construction of a dog park and pickleball courts' design and consultation, that he suggested may have been from previous councils, but hadn’t been discussed by the current council.
“I'm comfortable right now with focusing on our asset management needs and not so much with planning for more assets,” White said.
He asked for staff input on what items on the plan are not an asset management need. Staff said they could take a broader look at park amenity needs, get community input, and roll those items into the 2025 parks master plan for discussion. Coun. Christi Thompson agreed with the suggestion. Coun. Annemarie De Andrade commented that the dog park and pickleball have been requested by the community, and she thinks they will have a good discussion about it.
