The District of Sechelt’s finance department is now projecting a 2019 tax increase as high as 12.95 per cent, if all the proposals still on the table make it through the final deliberations.
It would also be the highest increase in a decade.
The original projection in the draft budget was an 11.81 per cent hike – which included a three per cent increase to cover capital costs – that would raise the tax bill on a typical single-family home on the sewer system by $191.
The main drivers of the increase on the operating side of the budget include creating three more positions at municipal hall – a facilities coordinator, a development engineer and a building inspector – at a yearly cost of around $300,000, and a $330,878 increase in the cost of pay and benefits for existing staff.
The projected increase was bumped up to 12.95 per cent after council endorsed additional funding for the Sechelt Public Library on Feb. 6, including an increase in the base funding.
The library is funded under an agreement with the Sunshine Coast Regional District and the Sechelt Indian Government District, and if the library funding proposals all go through, Sechelt’s share would work out to roughly $151,000 and require an additional 1.14 per cent property tax increase.
Council’s committee of the whole has also recommended some additions to the capital budget, which would be funded from reserves.
The recommendations from the committee’s Feb. 27 meeting include a series of requests from the community associations for projects such as new traffic signage and a public swim float off Sandy Hook beach.
“Road signs are cheap. If it improves safety we should be looking at doing it quickly,” said Coun. Alton Toth.
Another road safety issue that came up was the need for sidewalk and other improvements around West Sechelt Elementary School, which was also raised by the community associations.
Coun. Janice Kuester said that request is a priority for her, but the committee agreed to wait for more information about School District No. 46’s plans for the expansion of the school before deciding whether to move ahead faster.
The committee also recommended creating a new four-way stop at the intersection of Cowrie Street and Ocean Avenue “as soon as possible.” There has been at least once fatality in recent years at that intersection involving a vehicle hitting a person in a mobility scooter.
Another budget request being recommended by the committee is spending $25,000 from capital reserves to purchase a boat and motor.
“We are looking to deal with the derelict boats in the harbour, and we don’t have a boat and motor for our staff to use,” said Mayor Darnelda Siegers. “We have to call on other jurisdictions or other governments, etc., to do this. We also have equipment to deploy in case of a spill, but we don’t have a boat to use to deploy it. The coast guard has a number of times indicated that this is something that we should have.”
One project on the capital spending list was put on hold. The committee recommended the $570,000 dollar upgrade to the Trail Bay waterfront between Trail Avenue and Ocean Avenue be delayed till 2020 to allow more time to get community input on the design. The money is slated to come from development cost charges.
The final budget proposal is expected to go to council in early May.
