Round two debate of the Sunshine Coast Regional District’s 2023 budget has been delayed to March 2. Two dates, Feb. 21 and 22, had been originally booked for those discussions.
Board chair Leonard Lee introduced a motion to change the date as a late agenda item at the Feb 2 board meeting. He stated that both directors and staff have asked for additional time to prepare and consider material that is scheduled to come forward at the upcoming budget meeting. He also noted that several of the directors are slated to attend a local government leadership event off-Coast between Feb 15 and 17, which would restrict the time available to prepare for the next round of budget debate.
Additions to Round Two‘s agenda
The motion also asked that staff bring the previously adopted capital plans forward to the round two budget meeting. That was viewed as a positive move by Area E director Donna McMahon. She said she had concerns about the impacts of $7 million in capital spending for recreation facilities that the board approved before Round 1 discussion took place. She expressed the need for the board to “take a sober second look” at spending not only for this year but the ongoing impacts of budget decisions five and 10 years down the road during round two budget debate.
A proposal for a Hillside Business Planning project was also added to the round two budget agenda at the board meeting. A staff report presented at a committee of the whole meeting earlier in the day estimated that the budget for that item was approximately $92,000. It noted the work could be funded through reserves and identified that grant money may be available from an Island Coastal Economic Trust program. Chief financial officer Tina Perreault highlighted that representatives of the Sunshine Coast Regional Economic Development Organization had been invited to attend the round two meeting to speak to this proposal.
Is one day for debate enough?
Area D director Kelly Backs questioned the change from two days of round two meetings to one.
Perreault explained that 21 budget proposals are slated for consideration during the second round, and that based on past experience, staff felt a single-day meeting would be adequate. Lee noted that if there is a need for more time to debate the budget, additional meetings could be scheduled after March 2.
Sechelt area director Alton Toth, the finance committee chairperson who presided over the round one discussions held Jan 23 to 25, noted that he would not be available for the new round two date. Finance Committee vice-chair Gibsons director Silas White agreed to serve as the round two meeting chair.
