Members of the public interested in what the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) plans to spend its portion of 2024 property tax dollars (and other funds) on are invited to participate in virtual engagement sessions to be hosted during the fourth week of January.
This year's Round 2 SCRD budget online reach-outs are set to start at 6 p.m. on Jan. 22 and 24. Details on how to sign into the sessions as well as background materials on items considered at Round 1 and those up for debate in the follow-up round are available for review by browsing to letstalk.scrd.ca/budget.
In past years, area directors have signed into one or both of those sessions to hear the questions and suggestions raised. Committee-level debate of Round 2 proposals is slated for Feb. 5, to follow those public discussion events. The committee meeting, which in past years has stretched out over two calendar days, can also be attended by members of the public, with options for online or in-person attendance at the SCRD's Field Road office. The agenda of that meeting is scheduled to be available online on Feb. 2.
Round 1 committee-level discussions on the current year's budget culminated on Dec. 5. Again, following recent year's practices, discussion of budget proposals that include adding to that local government's person-year complement, which impacts the number of staff on the region's payroll, were deferred by the committee to Round 2 debate.
After committee review is completed, the budget/financial plan will go to the board for consideration. As part of the approval of those documents, property taxation rates, which vary by electoral area based on the regional functions and projects that each jurisdiction participates in, are determined and released.
Another related piece of the 2024 financial picture for the SCRD and its utility clients was finalized last month with the adoption of updated (and increased) water and wastewater rates. Details on those are also available on the regional district's 2024 budget webpage.
