Update: April 6, 2025
Council is poised to adopt the Five-Year Financial Plan at tomorrow night's regular council meeting, well ahead of the Province's May 15 deadline.
The agenda includes an updated staff report (pp. 143-147), the five-year consolidated budget and capital plan (pp. 153-166), the four-page Budget 2025 explainer (pp. 167-170) and the best-ever storyboards displayed at last Wednesday's annual budget open house at the Municipal Hall (pp. 171-191).
Scan to pp. 197-208 for a report on feedback heard from the 32 residents who attended the open house to meet with a full complement of staff and Cllr. Beddows, Pearson and myself. Those pages also include a handful of earlier emails received by the District. All budget materials to date are filed at the District's Let's Talk Budget website archive.
At the open house, I spent a good half hour talking with two residents deeply upset about the tax increase. Others I spoke with accepted the necessity of the increase to bolster 24/7 police and fire coverage, build the District's asset management fund and keep pace with fairly negotiated union contracts. Several, in fact, congratulated us on having the wherewithal to approve such a potentially unpopular but clearly needed hike. I was advised to scan the fiery comments on the SookeTown Facebook page, but I don't believe any of those several dozen folks attended.
Chief among the lessons learned this budget cycle is that real-dollar figures are needed for context alongside percentages. To that end, the Finance Department has been clear this year that while a +1% tax increase in Sooke generates $123k, that same percentage point delivers $1.75m in Saanich, $450k in Langford and $212k in Colwood.
This year, Saanich's 7.8% increase equates to $297 per average assessed ($1.15m) Saanich homeowner. Our 15.29% translates as $236.22 for a $770k average Sooke home, about $60 less.
PS We're not alone in seeing our increases rise year over year ~ BC's Fastest Growing Cities Hammered By Rapidly Rising Tax Rates (Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun, April 3, 2025).
Elsewhere:
- Langford: 9.77% increase in 2025
- Sidney: 10.67% ($191 per average assessed home
- North Saanich: 8.74% ($161 per average assessed home)
- View Royal: 9 to 11% (still TBD)
- Esquimalt: 9.68%
- City of Victoria: TBD
- Oak Bay: 11.4% (
- Whistler: 8.25%
- Prince George: 6.21% ($169 per average assessed $453k home)
- Richmond - 5.86% ($128 per average assessed $1.3m home)
- Sooke Report Highlights Tax Comparisons of Greater Victoria Communities (Black Press, Dec. 2, 2024)
The District's mission: Diversify a tax base that is currently 82.7% residential and just 15.5% business + 1.33% light industry. Launching Sooke's Employment Lands Strategy (likely in 2026 following OCP adoption) and, through it, activating Sooke's vacant or under-utilized industrial and commercial land is a top Strategic Plan priority. This will be a subject addressed by the new Land Use and Community Economic Development committees. If you're curious, begin with the 2019 Sooke Economic Analysis.
Update: March 23, 2025
Regrettably but with demonstrated necessity, council has given the District approval to move ahead with a 2025 tax increase of $236 on the average assessed ($770k) Sooke household. After RCMP, fire service, parks, operations and other staff presentations at the March 10 council meeting, we unanimously (all six of us present) asked staff to bring forward the 2025-29 Five Year Plan with an increase of that significant amount (15.29%).
Council is posed to adopt the Five-Year Plan at tomorrow night's regular council meeting. The agenda includes an updated staff report (pp. 143-147),
- March 10 agenda (see pp. 41-134; slide deck begins on pg. 63)
- March 24 agenda (see pp. 207-230)
Council recognizes this is very much a needs-not-wants increase rooted largely in community safety and asset management cost increases. We are asked to give first, second and third readings to the plan tomorrow night. A budget open house will follow on Wed. April 2 at the municipal hall.
The District's March 13 press release provides full details, but in brief the hike is required to pay for the following:
- 5.55% ($684k) increase for policing costs, largely salaries under the new union contract, as we lock in 24/7 service from Sooke RCMP
- 2.35% ($290k) for nine months of first-time E-Comm 9-1-1 emergency dispatch charges (to be augmented by a potential $100k UBCM grant that the District is seeking.)
- 2% ($246k) increase for Asset Management to ensure the District can maintain and replace infrastructure over the long term -- this will the second year of building Sooke's first dedicated asset management reserve fund to cover future municipal costs. (See the District's 2023 Asset Management Policy and the staff reports in the Dec. 11, 2023 agenda, pp. 49-182)
- 3.65% ($450k) for non-discretionary (i.e., unavoidable) increases, namely CUPE, IAFF and management staff contract increases, the highway maintenance contract, already committed new positions (Executive Office Coordinator, Firefighter, Part-time Bylaw Officer), municipal by-election(s), licensing fees, group benefits and insurance.
- 1.73% ($213k) discretionary increases, namely new staffing (an additional firefighter as Sooke Fire builds its full-time team, parks labourer, front-desk clerk, and auxiliary accountant) + fire and parks operating expenses.
Staff at council's request had provided options that would have taken the increase as low as 9.9%, however this would have required deep cuts to the District's policing and other reserve funds. As Director of Finance Rose Liu noted at the March 10 council meeting: "When more reserve funds are used today, the long-term financial risks for tomorrow increase because reserves serve as a financial safety net for unexpected costs, economic downturns or future capital projects."
Rather than running reserves down, council took a measured, long-game, "common sense" I dare say, approach in collecting $1.8m in new revenue for an overall municipal budget of $14.2m. We're playing catch-up and we believe these costs are necessary to meet community growth and expectations for good governance.
Sooke currently has the third lowest general municipal taxes on Vancouver Island according to staff calculations. With this increase, Sooke will retain that status should other municipalities increase their own taxes by 7% this year (which is a fair guesstimate.) As Sooke and its basic municipal service needs expand, council recognizes that it is now time to pay our past tax savings forward.
An important new metric discussed this year is the distance a 1% tax increase will go in covering anticipated local government costs. In Sooke it equates to $123k. In Saanich, 1% nets $1.75m. Costs of services and labour are effectively the same in each municipality. As the District notes: "This highlights the challenges smaller communities like Sooke face in maintaining and expanding services. While percentages can make interesting headlines, they don’t always effectively communicate the impact."
Looking ahead, the 5-Year Plan calls for increases of 9.7% (2026), 7.71% (2027), 10.72% (2028) and 7.34% (2029). As ever, these are best estimates by the finance team that are subject to change. The lion's share of these increases are as follows:
- 2% asset management reserve fund contribution per year
- additional firefighters as we build towards a team of 20 IAFF members (currently 12), allowing Chief Kennedy to assemble four rotating squads delivering 24/7 emergency response service with volunteer firefighter back-up.
- five more Sooke RCMP officers -- two in 2026, one in 2027 and two more in 2028 -- so as to continue ensuring 24/7 service and, significantly, allowing the establishment of a General Investigative Services unit to focus on major crimes in Sooke -- attempted murder, aggravated assault, sexual assault, fraud, child pornography, robbery, arson, break and enter, and prolific offender management. As Staff Sgt. Willcocks demonstrated, Sooke is a rare municipality with a population over 10k that to date has lacked a specialized GIS section, leaving this specialized work in the hands of already overstretched general duty officers.
- anticipated costs for Sooke inclusion in the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Investigation Unit, another insurance policy of sorts that will cover costs of murder investigations in Sooke.
- a $20m placeholder in 2029 in anticipation of costs for future expansion of the sewer system east to Kaltasin Rd.
- Frequently Asked Questions (pg. 210 of the March 24 agenda)
i) What has been the District’s average tax increase over the past decade? Since 2012, the District of Sooke’s average annual municipal tax increase has been 4.3%. While individual years may see higher or lower adjustments depending on economic conditions, infrastructure investments, and service demands, this long-term average reflects the District’s efforts to balance financial sustainability with the needs of a growing community.
ii) What does a 1% tax increase in Sooke generate in revenue? How does this compare to other communities? Currently, a 1% increase generates approximately $123,000 in revenue for the District. In comparison, a 1% increase in Saanich raises $1.75 million. This highlights the challenges smaller communities like Sooke face in maintaining and expanding services. While percentages can make interesting headlines, they don’t always effectively communicate the impact. For example, while a 1% tax increase in different communities may seem comparable, the absolute revenue generated varies greatly depending on the size of the community’s tax base. Smaller municipalities, like Sooke, have a much smaller base, which means that even small increases can fall short in addressing the growing demand for services."
Original Post - Jan. 19, 2025
Initial budget proposal to be presented at today's Committee of the Whole meeting by the District's Financial Services department. See the agenda, pp. 3 to 15
Jan. 20 update: Council has asked staff to work towards no more than a 10% tax hike this year. Appreciation was expressed for a solid, realistic, needs-not-wants initial proposal while also recognizing that reserve funds can be creatively used to lower the first ask (16.04%). This increase will still keep Sooke's tax burden among the very lowest in BC (hooray! Remarkable, really, how the District has done more with less over the years. The reality now is that our past tax savings are going to have to be paid forward as we strive to build-out and maintain a complete community).
As i noted yesterday, a lesser amount must be considered in light of the potential taxpayer costs of a major borrowing should we move forward with a referendum on connector route construction and possibly other uses (land acquisition, for instance); as the District's Ben Currie showed in one of his slides, a $30m Municipal Finance Authority borrowing at its current 4.56% long-term interest rate will cost taxpayers $229 per year -- a number that drops notably along with the interest rate, of course. [Inflation in Canada slowed to 1.8% in December (see today's CPI report), and the Bank of Canada's latest 3.25% policy rate may decline as a result. The tariff threat is the wild card shading all else.]
Starting Points
District of Sooke: Let's Talk Budget 2025
Website home page with links to all relevant materials, including:
- Budget 2025: What We Heard citizen survey (input collected from June-September, 2024)
- Survey slide-deck presentation to council (Nov. 12, 2024)
- Five-Year Financial Plan 2024-2028 adopted in April, 2024.
Pocketbook Top Notes
- Proposed 16.04% increase on 2025 property tax bills to cover an increase of $2.13m in new District operational expenses. If approved, this amounts to a 14.04% increase in the Operating Budget and a 2% increase for Asset Management, totalling $2,134,323 in general municipal taxes collected for 2025 District operations.
- This equates to an additional $247.84 per year or $20.66 per month for the average Sooke residential taxpayer (i.e., owner of a home assessed at $770,284, the Sooke average as determined by BC Assessment.)
- This breaks down to $9.94 per month for RCMP, $2.57 per month for Asset Management, and $8.14 per month for District operations.”
- As ever, this is a first bullseye targeted increase. Council has and will again inevitably reduce this number (ideally into single digits if at all possible) while also recognizing the importance of continued investment in Sooke by homeowners (83.4% of tax revenue last year) and businesses who call for a functional, safe, connected community.
- In 2024, we started at 13.3% and settled on 10.56%
- In 2023, we started at 9.34% and settled on 6.99%.
- A +1% increase in taxes equates to $109k approx. in new revenue (2024 figure)
- A +1% increase this year in Sooke will generate $123k
- A +1% increase in Saanich generates $1.75m
- A +1% increase in Langford generates $450k
- A +1% increase in Colwood generates $212k
- Yes, this proposed increase is high, yet it is presented in the context that Sooke has historically been, and remains to this day, one of the least taxed communities in BC. See the finance department’s latest set of graphics (pp. 19-36). These charts were first introduced last year and have been a perspective game-changer.
[Example: Qualicum Beach council is looking at a 5.7% increase this year. A QB homeowner's total taxes (all sources) last year were $6,440 (vs. $4,242 in Sooke); its general municipal taxes were $2,598 (vs. $1,758 here). As our Mr. Currie tell us, these comparisons are apple/orange since every community is unique re: size, geography and the various services and responsibilities each muni undertakes within a regional district context. Yet how critical to recognize our respective starting points created through tax rate decisions made over time. Fact: We in Sooke have been undertaxed historically for the services we demand and expect. I'm told by those in the seeming know that we were underfunded by the Province upon municipal incorporation and hence were challenged from the get-go.]
- The question asked of council by staff: “Do we have the resources to succeed with our strategic focus areas?” (as identified in the District’s 2024-2027 Strategic Plan approved in late October).
- Community safety is again the leading factor as the District continues assembling 24/7 fire and police teams to meet the demands of a rapidly growing community (now close to 17k residents). Policing costs are resulting in a 7.72% increase this year.
- A nearly 3% chunk of that policing increase stems from the fact that Sooke is one of ten south island communities that must pay 100% of the costs for E-Comm 9-1-1 and its modernized Next Gen 9-1-1 emergency response system
effective April 1 this year. Pro-rated over a full year, that’s nearly $330k in fresh spending. (Mayor Tait and all other south island mayors protested this increase in 2021. The download was subsequently pushed back from the originally planned April, 2022 as per this notice shared on Sooke’s website. The three-year reprieve is now over. )
- Sooke launched its first Asset Management Plan and Strategy in 2022 and the new budget calls for a second 2% increase ($246k) this year to build the dedicated reserve fund for future TBD use. These annual 2% increases for this purpose are to expected over the next 20 years minimum if Sooke is to have sufficient funds (end-of-life replacements and climate catastrophes like Charters Rd. included). This is a best practice for municipalities that want to ensure all the civic fundamentals (roads, sidewalks, sewers, stormwater systems, vehicles, etc.) can be repaired and replaced as required. Many do not to their regret when it comes time to pay for system breakdowns. [See the extensive Sooke report from Urban Systems (pp. 49-182). The Federation of Canadian Municipalities provides this video explainer to inspire good-parent communities like our own.]
- Like last year, there is little wriggle room in the budget beyond these expenses given that most other costs fall into the “non-discretionary” category of items (4.16% of the total increase) that we’re contracted to cover, i.e. CUPE and IAFF and exempt (management) employee wage increases (each representing 1% of the lift); group employee benefits; the highway maintenance contract with Victoria Contracting ($200k more per year over length of a three-year contract approved last fall); and costs associated with the one municipal by-election now on the books (when there could be more than one plus a referendum).
Budget 2025 Timeline
* COW for initial council direction and public input: Jan. 19
* First reading of the Five-Year Plan: Feb.
* Second and third reading: Feb.
* Community Budget Open House: March
* Adoption: March/April
* Provincial deadline: May 15
Input from the Community
Solid north star-guidance based on the top community priorities for service-level increases was captured in the Budget 2024 survey last year It drew formal responses from 330 residents and is augmented by the opinions of 900 others who shared thoughts at the various market booths hosted by the District. See pp. 25-88 for a small but statistically accurate slice of hugely diverse #Sooke thinking about departmental spending, borrowing referendums, fiscal support of community groups (nearly $1m per year, of which 80% of survey respondents either approved and/or felt merited further investment) and much else.
Four top priorities
• Local streets and roadways;
• Community safety, planning and development;
• Business attraction, retention, and commercial development;
• Parks, outdoor spaces, sidewalks, and trails.
High satisfaction
- fire rescue
- parks
- communications
- community engagement
- policing
Areas of concern
- local streets
- community planning
- business attraction and retention
- commercial development
- bylaw education
“However, most respondents expressed overall satisfaction across all services.”
Proposed 2025 Increases
<clipped from the agenda>
- $951,681 or 7.72% increase for policing, including E-Comm – new costs for emergency dispatch services, prorated for 3 quarters (April to December) … E-Comm accounts for $254,927 (2.5% tax increase)
- $250,000 or 2% increase for asset management to ensure the District can maintain and replace infrastructure over the long term
- $512,286 or 4.16% non-discretionary increases which include items such as municipal by-election, staffing obligations (contract and committed net new positions – Executive Office Coordinator, Firefighter, Part-time Bylaw Officer previously funded by COVID Reserves), licensing fees, insurance, etc., and
- $266,947 or 2.17% discretionary increases which includes staffing considerations (Firefighter, Parks Labourer, Auxiliary Senior Financial Accountant hours, Auxiliary Clerk hours), fire operating expenses, and parks operating expenses."
Granular Details
Sooke RCMP - Police
- under new nation-wide RCMP union contract, officer per-member costs rise from $227k to $254k in 2025 and beyond. This number is salary plus all associated costs per officer (including vehicle and pro-rated share of support staff, the Church Road HQ, etc.)
- current force size due to vacancies, stress leave, etc: 14 municipal officers + five provincial officers
- 16 approved and budgeted Sooke RCMP positions in 2025
- Sooke council, in 2023, approved expansion of the local force to 19 officers to enable 24/7 service (scroll through this post to find details)
- Anticipating Sooke population growth – 17,311 in 2025; 19,865 by 2029; 22,796 by 2033 (based on a 3.5% increase per year in figures presented by Sooke RCMP.) With 19 officers – the Pop to Cop ratio will be 1 officer per 1,082 residents in 2029. The ultimate goal is to reach and then maintain over time the provincial average of 1:800.
- Future cost: Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit (VIIMCU). Implementation date TBD with Sooke responsible for the costs (though Mayor Tait and council have repeatedly lobbied the Solicitor General for relief or a break of some kind.) Initial estimate is $350k per year, i.e. a 3% tax hike likely to start in 2026. Joining VIIMCU is an insurance policy of sorts that protects Sooke from one-time, usually six-figure investigation costs associated with murders and other major crimes.
Fire Rescue and Emergency Program Services
- 24-hour coverage achieved in 2023
- one new firefighter to be hired in 2025
- this will be Sooke's' eighth IAFF member. The goal over time is to build towards 24/7 4x4 shift rotation (i.e., 16 firefighters) backed by volunteers.
- purchase of EV car for use by fire inspector and emergency program manager (green corporate fleet policy)
- confined space training
- critical equipment replacement + new PPE gear locker
Facilities, Parks and Environmental Services
- park labourer - 1 FTE
- mid-term Parks and Trails Master Plan review
- trail construction
- park signage and wayfinding
Other proposed staff hires heard during the November, 2024 Service Review
- Chief Building Official (already built into the budget last year)
- increasing capacity for Bylaw Enforcement to ensure adequate coverage and response times.
- increasing capacity for Legislative Services to meet new legislative requirements related to privacy management.
Several other positions were requested in the service review but have not made the cut when all financial factors were considered and will likely be in the mix again next year:
- Senior Financial Accountant (reduced to a continuing part-time contract position)
- Planner 2
- Facility Labourer within the parks department
- Second IAFF firefighter hire
Breakdown of our total tax bill
District of Sooke – 44.1%
SD 62 – 28.1%
CRD – 15.8%
BC Transit – 4.4%
Library – 3.4%
CRD Hospital District – 3.2%
BC Assessment – 1%
2025 Projections ...
Capital Regional District
See September’s Capital Regional District budget presentation. The numbers translate to a 6.74% increase for the average assessed Sooke property -- i.e., $38.47. For details of what the CRD delivers to Sooke, see our budget scorecard amidst summaries for all municipalities and electoral areas in Item 4.2 Appendix D of the agenda.
(Background on, and respect to, our regional mother corp in this blog post. Top perennial bite is for the operation, maintenance and strategic expansion of our recreation centre SEAPARC, to which nearly half of the requisition is dedicated. Our share of funding for regional parks, CRD legislative staff, emergency services (including fire dispatch and the CREST telecommunications system), animal bylaw services and the Sooke Region Museum are the other bigger-ticket needs that we, as a municipality, are grateful is handled by our parent district with its staff capacity and multi-jurisdictional delivery ... The first block of services at the top of the statement is financed by all households in the CRD. The second block lists "Sub-Regional" services that Sooke has opted into. We share costs for the museum with the JDF in a 70/30 split. Everyone in the region chips into the Capital Regional Hospital District and the long-term debt on various regional undertakings.)
Vancouver Island Regional Library
VIRL’s provisional $32.5m budget to operate the 39-branch system in 2025 is resulting in a 6% lift (roughly) on the $1.09 million it collected from Sooke this year.
(others to follow as available)
Taxation in Sooke since 2012
Municipal tax hikes since 2012 total 44.93% ... nonetheless, to dive into the stats cited above, Sooke has the third lowest residential taxes on Vancouver Island. Sooke at $1,594 in municipal residential property taxes (for the average assessed property) is second only to Lake Cowichan ($1,540) in having the lowest bills on Vancouver Island amongst communities south of Campbell River. The median tax among the 25 jurisdictions cited in the draft plan is $2,381 (i.e., what folks in Port Alberni, Colwood, Qualicum Beach approximately pay). Oak Bay tops the list at $5,063 per tweed-curtain household. Not that this alone justifies major local increases, of course.
2024 ~ 10.53%
2023 ~ 6.99%
2022 ~ 6.09%
2021 ~ 3.31%
2020 ~ 0.00%
2019 ~ 7.18%
2018 ~ 2.79%
2017 ~ 5.58%
2016 ~ 0.85%
2015 ~ 0.00%
2014 ~ 0.02%
2013 ~ 1.59%
2012 ~ 0.00%
2019-2024 ~ 34.1%
2012-2024 ~ 44.93%
Working five-year projections in the 2024-2028 plan approved last spring ...
2025 – 8.98%
2026 – 6.51%
2027 – 6.14%
2028 – 5.68%
Big Picture Context
- Inflation - British Columbia 2024: "As of November 2024 (see infographic), the 12-month average price index for all-items in British Columbia was 154.8, a 2.7% increase when compared to the previous 12-month average. Energy had an average price index of 210.5 (-2.1%) while the average food price index climbed to 182.3 (+3.4%)."
- Consumer Price Index Portal (Statistics Canada)
- Consumer Price Index Annual Review (2023)
- Consumer Price Inflation: Recent Trends and Analysis
- Personal Inflation Calculator
- Need for more local government support from other orders of government
- Municipal governments today receive approx. 9 cents of every tax dollar collected in Canada vs. double that amount 50 years ago (source: FCM)
- "Municipal Funding Model Needs A New Approach" - South Island Prosperity Project's Dallas Gislason writing in the Times Colonist, June 15, 2024
- Union of BC Municipalities campaign: See its "Stretched to the Limit" report released in September, 2024
<clip> "Local governments are providing more and more public services in areas of provincial responsibility without a corresponding growth in revenue. They are increasingly stepping up to meet the needs of a growing population by filling gaps in provincial services while implementing costly new legislative requirements in such areas as housing, community safety, infrastructure, and emergency management ... While local governments are doing significantly more, they are doing so with fiscal tools that have been in place for generations. Local governments are being asked to solve 21st century problems with 20th century revenue tools." # upload the download
- UBCM Local Government Financial Review Working Group – Sept. 2024 Annual Report
- Sustainable, long-term, predictable Province of BC funding for local governments paired with policy support in three priority areas: attainable housing, climate change and community safety. See Ensuring Local Government Financial Resiliency (2021), which presents recommendations that reiterate and expand on those found in UBCM's Strong Fiscal Futures report (2013).
- This work is coordinated by UBCM and provincial staff within the Local Government Financial Review Working Group (see its August, 2024 report). Top of mind always is this consensus "problem statement" - "Property tax is useful and important as an own-source revenue tool, but local governments report difficulty raising enough revenue from property taxes, particularly regarding infrastructure capital costs and select service delivery costs driven by senior government regulations and environmental factors."
- Federation of Canadian Municipalities' Municipal Growth Framework campaign at the federal level. Its key point: "Local governments’ scope of responsibilities continues to expand—including driving action on-the-ground in new areas like homelessness, housing, mental health and addiction, as well as sustainability, climate adaptation and mitigation—outstripping funding provided by an outdated funding framework. Who pays for it all, through what means, and how do we keep municipal budgets balanced?"]
~ Infrastructure funding renewal. UBCM represents local governments re: the Canada-Community Building Fund (formerly Gas Tax Fund). A new 10-year agreement with Ottawa was signed on April 1 last year and will deliver $3.5 billion to BC over the next decade; half of it is dedicated to Greater Vancouver, and funds are also hived off for BC Transit, Trans-Link and non-profits. The amount is indexed to rise incrementally each year. See UBCM page + 2018 UBCM outcomes report.
Sooke received approx. $630k in 2023 + the new agreement will deliver (over the next five years) approx. $750,000 per year through 2027 and $780,000 per year for 2028 and 2029. Funding to Sooke over the years has gone towards multiple road, trail and other infrastructure improvements, master-planning documents, the Fred Milne turf field, the SEAPARC weight room/fitness studio and more. [A permanent doubling of the $293 million transferred to BC as happened in 2019 and 2021 would be much appreciated, of course.]
- Investing In Canada Infrastructure Program (now in its final year)
- Community transition support via the BC Rural Economic Diversification and Infrastructure Program
Budget 2025 Feedback on my Facebook page from Ellen Lewers
"What about the rest of the taxes??? Want or need? What about the $30,000 for a rainbow crosswalk when a highly visible white crosswalk costs $1200-$1500? Strategic plan states fiscal responsibility.
What about a $4.4 million parks budget?. How about sandbags for playing ball and bring your own soccer ball to kick around instead of expensive jungle gyms and water parks? Playgrounds are where children learn to be creative. If we do it for them they don’t enhance their own creative play and skills."
My reply: "Hi Ellen, here's my full-scale take on the 2025 budget in progress - arguably another budget of needs, not wants (i.e. police, fire, asset management reserve fund, union contracts) https://www.jeffbateman.ca/blog/budget-2025
The $4.4m parks number you mention is the capital budget, and it includes the $2.7m Little River bridge/trail (federal and provincial funds) and the Ravens Ridge Park development ($750k from the Province's one-time 2023 Growing Communities Fund grant to Sooke). The actual budget for Parks & Environmental Services is approx. $1.3m to cover staffing and "the planning, design, construction and maintenance of municipal facilities, parks, trails, green spaces and environmental planning and stewardship." (The $1.3m number is on pg. 47 of last year's Five-Year Plan, we've yet to see this kind of detailed breakdown yet for this year.)
Crosswalks: As per Cllr. McMath's motion on Monday night based on some numbers I found re: a CHEK report that City of Victoria spent $18k repainting three Pandora Street rainbow crosswalks in June 2023, District staff are tasked with preparing a report on a possible rainbow crosswalk on Church Rd. using a $6k benchmark. As the Mayor said, one message she's heard from the hundreds of youngsters she's interacted with over the last decade and more is that they want Sooke to have its own roadside rainbow message of inclusivity as is now increasingly common in municipalities across Canada. The staff report clearly recommended "up to $30k" for this purpose. Several of us questioned the timing of this kind of expense in light of the proposed tax increase (which council has asked be reduced to 10%) and the fact we'd just voted that night (4-2) to delay the council by-election in part due to how much these voting days cost (likely $50k or more apiece) and the fact we may need two or three voting windows this year. I noted that inclusivity is baked into section 4.11 of the pending OCP ("Equitable Community") with the goal of "create a safe and resilient community for all" (pg. 147). I also noted that some BC communities are finding other, less costly, ways to celebrate diversity -- i.e., rainbow benches, street banners, even rainbow sidewalks that experience less wear and tear than road surfaces. We'll discuss more when the report comes back.
I agree with you about the upsides of free-range children (as i was back in the distant day, living in a safe suburban setting, roaming with a pack of friends and staying entertained with yes, a soccer ball or a tennis ball that I'd slam hundreds of times against the garage door to my dad's understandable annoyance as I developed what remains pretty good hand-eye coordination). Times have changed, however, and parents do want modern playgrounds and spray parks for their youngsters ... wants in the eyes of some, yet needs for others. (There's no spray park in the current five-year budget; instead there are line items for repairs and maintenance, playground equipment safety replacements, maintenance of the pier and boardwalk, new fencing at Ed Macgregor Park, improvements to the frankly pretty shabby parks office at the works yard, and other essentials. The memorial wall might qualify as a 'want,' I suppose, but a rather significant and meaningful one, we and many believe.)
Bottom line: Sincere thank you, Ellen, for almost always showing up at meetings and sharing your views and opinions in continuing your multi-decade tradition of engagement and necessarily tough questions."
Archive of my earlier budget posts
- Budget 2023 Starter
- Budget 2022
- 2020/21
- CRD (2019)
- Budget 2019
Council is poised to adopt the Five-Year Financial Plan at tomorrow night's regular council meeting, well ahead of the Province's May 15 deadline.
The agenda includes an updated staff report (pp. 143-147), the five-year consolidated budget and capital plan (pp. 153-166), the four-page Budget 2025 explainer (pp. 167-170) and the best-ever storyboards displayed at last Wednesday's annual budget open house at the Municipal Hall (pp. 171-191).
Scan to pp. 197-208 for a report on feedback heard from the 32 residents who attended the open house to meet with a full complement of staff and Cllr. Beddows, Pearson and myself. Those pages also include a handful of earlier emails received by the District. All budget materials to date are filed at the District's Let's Talk Budget website archive.
At the open house, I spent a good half hour talking with two residents deeply upset about the tax increase. Others I spoke with accepted the necessity of the increase to bolster 24/7 police and fire coverage, build the District's asset management fund and keep pace with fairly negotiated union contracts. Several, in fact, congratulated us on having the wherewithal to approve such a potentially unpopular but clearly needed hike. I was advised to scan the fiery comments on the SookeTown Facebook page, but I don't believe any of those several dozen folks attended.
Chief among the lessons learned this budget cycle is that real-dollar figures are needed for context alongside percentages. To that end, the Finance Department has been clear this year that while a +1% tax increase in Sooke generates $123k, that same percentage point delivers $1.75m in Saanich, $450k in Langford and $212k in Colwood.
This year, Saanich's 7.8% increase equates to $297 per average assessed ($1.15m) Saanich homeowner. Our 15.29% translates as $236.22 for a $770k average Sooke home, about $60 less.
PS We're not alone in seeing our increases rise year over year ~ BC's Fastest Growing Cities Hammered By Rapidly Rising Tax Rates (Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun, April 3, 2025).
Elsewhere:
- Langford: 9.77% increase in 2025
- Sidney: 10.67% ($191 per average assessed home
- North Saanich: 8.74% ($161 per average assessed home)
- View Royal: 9 to 11% (still TBD)
- Esquimalt: 9.68%
- City of Victoria: TBD
- Oak Bay: 11.4% (
- Whistler: 8.25%
- Prince George: 6.21% ($169 per average assessed $453k home)
- Richmond - 5.86% ($128 per average assessed $1.3m home)
- Sooke Report Highlights Tax Comparisons of Greater Victoria Communities (Black Press, Dec. 2, 2024)
The District's mission: Diversify a tax base that is currently 82.7% residential and just 15.5% business + 1.33% light industry. Launching Sooke's Employment Lands Strategy (likely in 2026 following OCP adoption) and, through it, activating Sooke's vacant or under-utilized industrial and commercial land is a top Strategic Plan priority. This will be a subject addressed by the new Land Use and Community Economic Development committees. If you're curious, begin with the 2019 Sooke Economic Analysis.
Update: March 23, 2025
Regrettably but with demonstrated necessity, council has given the District approval to move ahead with a 2025 tax increase of $236 on the average assessed ($770k) Sooke household. After RCMP, fire service, parks, operations and other staff presentations at the March 10 council meeting, we unanimously (all six of us present) asked staff to bring forward the 2025-29 Five Year Plan with an increase of that significant amount (15.29%).
Council is posed to adopt the Five-Year Plan at tomorrow night's regular council meeting. The agenda includes an updated staff report (pp. 143-147),
- March 10 agenda (see pp. 41-134; slide deck begins on pg. 63)
- March 24 agenda (see pp. 207-230)
Council recognizes this is very much a needs-not-wants increase rooted largely in community safety and asset management cost increases. We are asked to give first, second and third readings to the plan tomorrow night. A budget open house will follow on Wed. April 2 at the municipal hall.
The District's March 13 press release provides full details, but in brief the hike is required to pay for the following:
- 5.55% ($684k) increase for policing costs, largely salaries under the new union contract, as we lock in 24/7 service from Sooke RCMP
- 2.35% ($290k) for nine months of first-time E-Comm 9-1-1 emergency dispatch charges (to be augmented by a potential $100k UBCM grant that the District is seeking.)
- 2% ($246k) increase for Asset Management to ensure the District can maintain and replace infrastructure over the long term -- this will the second year of building Sooke's first dedicated asset management reserve fund to cover future municipal costs. (See the District's 2023 Asset Management Policy and the staff reports in the Dec. 11, 2023 agenda, pp. 49-182)
- 3.65% ($450k) for non-discretionary (i.e., unavoidable) increases, namely CUPE, IAFF and management staff contract increases, the highway maintenance contract, already committed new positions (Executive Office Coordinator, Firefighter, Part-time Bylaw Officer), municipal by-election(s), licensing fees, group benefits and insurance.
- 1.73% ($213k) discretionary increases, namely new staffing (an additional firefighter as Sooke Fire builds its full-time team, parks labourer, front-desk clerk, and auxiliary accountant) + fire and parks operating expenses.
Staff at council's request had provided options that would have taken the increase as low as 9.9%, however this would have required deep cuts to the District's policing and other reserve funds. As Director of Finance Rose Liu noted at the March 10 council meeting: "When more reserve funds are used today, the long-term financial risks for tomorrow increase because reserves serve as a financial safety net for unexpected costs, economic downturns or future capital projects."
Rather than running reserves down, council took a measured, long-game, "common sense" I dare say, approach in collecting $1.8m in new revenue for an overall municipal budget of $14.2m. We're playing catch-up and we believe these costs are necessary to meet community growth and expectations for good governance.
Sooke currently has the third lowest general municipal taxes on Vancouver Island according to staff calculations. With this increase, Sooke will retain that status should other municipalities increase their own taxes by 7% this year (which is a fair guesstimate.) As Sooke and its basic municipal service needs expand, council recognizes that it is now time to pay our past tax savings forward.
An important new metric discussed this year is the distance a 1% tax increase will go in covering anticipated local government costs. In Sooke it equates to $123k. In Saanich, 1% nets $1.75m. Costs of services and labour are effectively the same in each municipality. As the District notes: "This highlights the challenges smaller communities like Sooke face in maintaining and expanding services. While percentages can make interesting headlines, they don’t always effectively communicate the impact."
Looking ahead, the 5-Year Plan calls for increases of 9.7% (2026), 7.71% (2027), 10.72% (2028) and 7.34% (2029). As ever, these are best estimates by the finance team that are subject to change. The lion's share of these increases are as follows:
- 2% asset management reserve fund contribution per year
- additional firefighters as we build towards a team of 20 IAFF members (currently 12), allowing Chief Kennedy to assemble four rotating squads delivering 24/7 emergency response service with volunteer firefighter back-up.
- five more Sooke RCMP officers -- two in 2026, one in 2027 and two more in 2028 -- so as to continue ensuring 24/7 service and, significantly, allowing the establishment of a General Investigative Services unit to focus on major crimes in Sooke -- attempted murder, aggravated assault, sexual assault, fraud, child pornography, robbery, arson, break and enter, and prolific offender management. As Staff Sgt. Willcocks demonstrated, Sooke is a rare municipality with a population over 10k that to date has lacked a specialized GIS section, leaving this specialized work in the hands of already overstretched general duty officers.
- anticipated costs for Sooke inclusion in the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Investigation Unit, another insurance policy of sorts that will cover costs of murder investigations in Sooke.
- a $20m placeholder in 2029 in anticipation of costs for future expansion of the sewer system east to Kaltasin Rd.
- Frequently Asked Questions (pg. 210 of the March 24 agenda)
i) What has been the District’s average tax increase over the past decade? Since 2012, the District of Sooke’s average annual municipal tax increase has been 4.3%. While individual years may see higher or lower adjustments depending on economic conditions, infrastructure investments, and service demands, this long-term average reflects the District’s efforts to balance financial sustainability with the needs of a growing community.
ii) What does a 1% tax increase in Sooke generate in revenue? How does this compare to other communities? Currently, a 1% increase generates approximately $123,000 in revenue for the District. In comparison, a 1% increase in Saanich raises $1.75 million. This highlights the challenges smaller communities like Sooke face in maintaining and expanding services. While percentages can make interesting headlines, they don’t always effectively communicate the impact. For example, while a 1% tax increase in different communities may seem comparable, the absolute revenue generated varies greatly depending on the size of the community’s tax base. Smaller municipalities, like Sooke, have a much smaller base, which means that even small increases can fall short in addressing the growing demand for services."
Original Post - Jan. 19, 2025
Initial budget proposal to be presented at today's Committee of the Whole meeting by the District's Financial Services department. See the agenda, pp. 3 to 15
Jan. 20 update: Council has asked staff to work towards no more than a 10% tax hike this year. Appreciation was expressed for a solid, realistic, needs-not-wants initial proposal while also recognizing that reserve funds can be creatively used to lower the first ask (16.04%). This increase will still keep Sooke's tax burden among the very lowest in BC (hooray! Remarkable, really, how the District has done more with less over the years. The reality now is that our past tax savings are going to have to be paid forward as we strive to build-out and maintain a complete community).
As i noted yesterday, a lesser amount must be considered in light of the potential taxpayer costs of a major borrowing should we move forward with a referendum on connector route construction and possibly other uses (land acquisition, for instance); as the District's Ben Currie showed in one of his slides, a $30m Municipal Finance Authority borrowing at its current 4.56% long-term interest rate will cost taxpayers $229 per year -- a number that drops notably along with the interest rate, of course. [Inflation in Canada slowed to 1.8% in December (see today's CPI report), and the Bank of Canada's latest 3.25% policy rate may decline as a result. The tariff threat is the wild card shading all else.]
Starting Points
District of Sooke: Let's Talk Budget 2025
Website home page with links to all relevant materials, including:
- Budget 2025: What We Heard citizen survey (input collected from June-September, 2024)
- Survey slide-deck presentation to council (Nov. 12, 2024)
- Five-Year Financial Plan 2024-2028 adopted in April, 2024.
Pocketbook Top Notes
- Proposed 16.04% increase on 2025 property tax bills to cover an increase of $2.13m in new District operational expenses. If approved, this amounts to a 14.04% increase in the Operating Budget and a 2% increase for Asset Management, totalling $2,134,323 in general municipal taxes collected for 2025 District operations.
- This equates to an additional $247.84 per year or $20.66 per month for the average Sooke residential taxpayer (i.e., owner of a home assessed at $770,284, the Sooke average as determined by BC Assessment.)
- This breaks down to $9.94 per month for RCMP, $2.57 per month for Asset Management, and $8.14 per month for District operations.”
- As ever, this is a first bullseye targeted increase. Council has and will again inevitably reduce this number (ideally into single digits if at all possible) while also recognizing the importance of continued investment in Sooke by homeowners (83.4% of tax revenue last year) and businesses who call for a functional, safe, connected community.
- In 2024, we started at 13.3% and settled on 10.56%
- In 2023, we started at 9.34% and settled on 6.99%.
- A +1% increase in taxes equates to $109k approx. in new revenue (2024 figure)
- A +1% increase this year in Sooke will generate $123k
- A +1% increase in Saanich generates $1.75m
- A +1% increase in Langford generates $450k
- A +1% increase in Colwood generates $212k
- Yes, this proposed increase is high, yet it is presented in the context that Sooke has historically been, and remains to this day, one of the least taxed communities in BC. See the finance department’s latest set of graphics (pp. 19-36). These charts were first introduced last year and have been a perspective game-changer.
[Example: Qualicum Beach council is looking at a 5.7% increase this year. A QB homeowner's total taxes (all sources) last year were $6,440 (vs. $4,242 in Sooke); its general municipal taxes were $2,598 (vs. $1,758 here). As our Mr. Currie tell us, these comparisons are apple/orange since every community is unique re: size, geography and the various services and responsibilities each muni undertakes within a regional district context. Yet how critical to recognize our respective starting points created through tax rate decisions made over time. Fact: We in Sooke have been undertaxed historically for the services we demand and expect. I'm told by those in the seeming know that we were underfunded by the Province upon municipal incorporation and hence were challenged from the get-go.]
- The question asked of council by staff: “Do we have the resources to succeed with our strategic focus areas?” (as identified in the District’s 2024-2027 Strategic Plan approved in late October).
- Community safety is again the leading factor as the District continues assembling 24/7 fire and police teams to meet the demands of a rapidly growing community (now close to 17k residents). Policing costs are resulting in a 7.72% increase this year.
- A nearly 3% chunk of that policing increase stems from the fact that Sooke is one of ten south island communities that must pay 100% of the costs for E-Comm 9-1-1 and its modernized Next Gen 9-1-1 emergency response system
effective April 1 this year. Pro-rated over a full year, that’s nearly $330k in fresh spending. (Mayor Tait and all other south island mayors protested this increase in 2021. The download was subsequently pushed back from the originally planned April, 2022 as per this notice shared on Sooke’s website. The three-year reprieve is now over. )
- Sooke launched its first Asset Management Plan and Strategy in 2022 and the new budget calls for a second 2% increase ($246k) this year to build the dedicated reserve fund for future TBD use. These annual 2% increases for this purpose are to expected over the next 20 years minimum if Sooke is to have sufficient funds (end-of-life replacements and climate catastrophes like Charters Rd. included). This is a best practice for municipalities that want to ensure all the civic fundamentals (roads, sidewalks, sewers, stormwater systems, vehicles, etc.) can be repaired and replaced as required. Many do not to their regret when it comes time to pay for system breakdowns. [See the extensive Sooke report from Urban Systems (pp. 49-182). The Federation of Canadian Municipalities provides this video explainer to inspire good-parent communities like our own.]
- Like last year, there is little wriggle room in the budget beyond these expenses given that most other costs fall into the “non-discretionary” category of items (4.16% of the total increase) that we’re contracted to cover, i.e. CUPE and IAFF and exempt (management) employee wage increases (each representing 1% of the lift); group employee benefits; the highway maintenance contract with Victoria Contracting ($200k more per year over length of a three-year contract approved last fall); and costs associated with the one municipal by-election now on the books (when there could be more than one plus a referendum).
Budget 2025 Timeline
* COW for initial council direction and public input: Jan. 19
* First reading of the Five-Year Plan: Feb.
* Second and third reading: Feb.
* Community Budget Open House: March
* Adoption: March/April
* Provincial deadline: May 15
Input from the Community
Solid north star-guidance based on the top community priorities for service-level increases was captured in the Budget 2024 survey last year It drew formal responses from 330 residents and is augmented by the opinions of 900 others who shared thoughts at the various market booths hosted by the District. See pp. 25-88 for a small but statistically accurate slice of hugely diverse #Sooke thinking about departmental spending, borrowing referendums, fiscal support of community groups (nearly $1m per year, of which 80% of survey respondents either approved and/or felt merited further investment) and much else.
Four top priorities
• Local streets and roadways;
• Community safety, planning and development;
• Business attraction, retention, and commercial development;
• Parks, outdoor spaces, sidewalks, and trails.
High satisfaction
- fire rescue
- parks
- communications
- community engagement
- policing
Areas of concern
- local streets
- community planning
- business attraction and retention
- commercial development
- bylaw education
“However, most respondents expressed overall satisfaction across all services.”
Proposed 2025 Increases
<clipped from the agenda>
- $951,681 or 7.72% increase for policing, including E-Comm – new costs for emergency dispatch services, prorated for 3 quarters (April to December) … E-Comm accounts for $254,927 (2.5% tax increase)
- $250,000 or 2% increase for asset management to ensure the District can maintain and replace infrastructure over the long term
- $512,286 or 4.16% non-discretionary increases which include items such as municipal by-election, staffing obligations (contract and committed net new positions – Executive Office Coordinator, Firefighter, Part-time Bylaw Officer previously funded by COVID Reserves), licensing fees, insurance, etc., and
- $266,947 or 2.17% discretionary increases which includes staffing considerations (Firefighter, Parks Labourer, Auxiliary Senior Financial Accountant hours, Auxiliary Clerk hours), fire operating expenses, and parks operating expenses."
Granular Details
Sooke RCMP - Police
- under new nation-wide RCMP union contract, officer per-member costs rise from $227k to $254k in 2025 and beyond. This number is salary plus all associated costs per officer (including vehicle and pro-rated share of support staff, the Church Road HQ, etc.)
- current force size due to vacancies, stress leave, etc: 14 municipal officers + five provincial officers
- 16 approved and budgeted Sooke RCMP positions in 2025
- Sooke council, in 2023, approved expansion of the local force to 19 officers to enable 24/7 service (scroll through this post to find details)
- Anticipating Sooke population growth – 17,311 in 2025; 19,865 by 2029; 22,796 by 2033 (based on a 3.5% increase per year in figures presented by Sooke RCMP.) With 19 officers – the Pop to Cop ratio will be 1 officer per 1,082 residents in 2029. The ultimate goal is to reach and then maintain over time the provincial average of 1:800.
- Future cost: Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit (VIIMCU). Implementation date TBD with Sooke responsible for the costs (though Mayor Tait and council have repeatedly lobbied the Solicitor General for relief or a break of some kind.) Initial estimate is $350k per year, i.e. a 3% tax hike likely to start in 2026. Joining VIIMCU is an insurance policy of sorts that protects Sooke from one-time, usually six-figure investigation costs associated with murders and other major crimes.
Fire Rescue and Emergency Program Services
- 24-hour coverage achieved in 2023
- one new firefighter to be hired in 2025
- this will be Sooke's' eighth IAFF member. The goal over time is to build towards 24/7 4x4 shift rotation (i.e., 16 firefighters) backed by volunteers.
- purchase of EV car for use by fire inspector and emergency program manager (green corporate fleet policy)
- confined space training
- critical equipment replacement + new PPE gear locker
Facilities, Parks and Environmental Services
- park labourer - 1 FTE
- mid-term Parks and Trails Master Plan review
- trail construction
- park signage and wayfinding
Other proposed staff hires heard during the November, 2024 Service Review
- Chief Building Official (already built into the budget last year)
- increasing capacity for Bylaw Enforcement to ensure adequate coverage and response times.
- increasing capacity for Legislative Services to meet new legislative requirements related to privacy management.
Several other positions were requested in the service review but have not made the cut when all financial factors were considered and will likely be in the mix again next year:
- Senior Financial Accountant (reduced to a continuing part-time contract position)
- Planner 2
- Facility Labourer within the parks department
- Second IAFF firefighter hire
Breakdown of our total tax bill
District of Sooke – 44.1%
SD 62 – 28.1%
CRD – 15.8%
BC Transit – 4.4%
Library – 3.4%
CRD Hospital District – 3.2%
BC Assessment – 1%
2025 Projections ...
Capital Regional District
See September’s Capital Regional District budget presentation. The numbers translate to a 6.74% increase for the average assessed Sooke property -- i.e., $38.47. For details of what the CRD delivers to Sooke, see our budget scorecard amidst summaries for all municipalities and electoral areas in Item 4.2 Appendix D of the agenda.
(Background on, and respect to, our regional mother corp in this blog post. Top perennial bite is for the operation, maintenance and strategic expansion of our recreation centre SEAPARC, to which nearly half of the requisition is dedicated. Our share of funding for regional parks, CRD legislative staff, emergency services (including fire dispatch and the CREST telecommunications system), animal bylaw services and the Sooke Region Museum are the other bigger-ticket needs that we, as a municipality, are grateful is handled by our parent district with its staff capacity and multi-jurisdictional delivery ... The first block of services at the top of the statement is financed by all households in the CRD. The second block lists "Sub-Regional" services that Sooke has opted into. We share costs for the museum with the JDF in a 70/30 split. Everyone in the region chips into the Capital Regional Hospital District and the long-term debt on various regional undertakings.)
Vancouver Island Regional Library
VIRL’s provisional $32.5m budget to operate the 39-branch system in 2025 is resulting in a 6% lift (roughly) on the $1.09 million it collected from Sooke this year.
(others to follow as available)
Taxation in Sooke since 2012
Municipal tax hikes since 2012 total 44.93% ... nonetheless, to dive into the stats cited above, Sooke has the third lowest residential taxes on Vancouver Island. Sooke at $1,594 in municipal residential property taxes (for the average assessed property) is second only to Lake Cowichan ($1,540) in having the lowest bills on Vancouver Island amongst communities south of Campbell River. The median tax among the 25 jurisdictions cited in the draft plan is $2,381 (i.e., what folks in Port Alberni, Colwood, Qualicum Beach approximately pay). Oak Bay tops the list at $5,063 per tweed-curtain household. Not that this alone justifies major local increases, of course.
2024 ~ 10.53%
2023 ~ 6.99%
2022 ~ 6.09%
2021 ~ 3.31%
2020 ~ 0.00%
2019 ~ 7.18%
2018 ~ 2.79%
2017 ~ 5.58%
2016 ~ 0.85%
2015 ~ 0.00%
2014 ~ 0.02%
2013 ~ 1.59%
2012 ~ 0.00%
2019-2024 ~ 34.1%
2012-2024 ~ 44.93%
Working five-year projections in the 2024-2028 plan approved last spring ...
2025 – 8.98%
2026 – 6.51%
2027 – 6.14%
2028 – 5.68%
Big Picture Context
- Inflation - British Columbia 2024: "As of November 2024 (see infographic), the 12-month average price index for all-items in British Columbia was 154.8, a 2.7% increase when compared to the previous 12-month average. Energy had an average price index of 210.5 (-2.1%) while the average food price index climbed to 182.3 (+3.4%)."
- Consumer Price Index Portal (Statistics Canada)
- Consumer Price Index Annual Review (2023)
- Consumer Price Inflation: Recent Trends and Analysis
- Personal Inflation Calculator
- Need for more local government support from other orders of government
- Municipal governments today receive approx. 9 cents of every tax dollar collected in Canada vs. double that amount 50 years ago (source: FCM)
- "Municipal Funding Model Needs A New Approach" - South Island Prosperity Project's Dallas Gislason writing in the Times Colonist, June 15, 2024
- Union of BC Municipalities campaign: See its "Stretched to the Limit" report released in September, 2024
<clip> "Local governments are providing more and more public services in areas of provincial responsibility without a corresponding growth in revenue. They are increasingly stepping up to meet the needs of a growing population by filling gaps in provincial services while implementing costly new legislative requirements in such areas as housing, community safety, infrastructure, and emergency management ... While local governments are doing significantly more, they are doing so with fiscal tools that have been in place for generations. Local governments are being asked to solve 21st century problems with 20th century revenue tools." # upload the download
- UBCM Local Government Financial Review Working Group – Sept. 2024 Annual Report
- Sustainable, long-term, predictable Province of BC funding for local governments paired with policy support in three priority areas: attainable housing, climate change and community safety. See Ensuring Local Government Financial Resiliency (2021), which presents recommendations that reiterate and expand on those found in UBCM's Strong Fiscal Futures report (2013).
- This work is coordinated by UBCM and provincial staff within the Local Government Financial Review Working Group (see its August, 2024 report). Top of mind always is this consensus "problem statement" - "Property tax is useful and important as an own-source revenue tool, but local governments report difficulty raising enough revenue from property taxes, particularly regarding infrastructure capital costs and select service delivery costs driven by senior government regulations and environmental factors."
- Federation of Canadian Municipalities' Municipal Growth Framework campaign at the federal level. Its key point: "Local governments’ scope of responsibilities continues to expand—including driving action on-the-ground in new areas like homelessness, housing, mental health and addiction, as well as sustainability, climate adaptation and mitigation—outstripping funding provided by an outdated funding framework. Who pays for it all, through what means, and how do we keep municipal budgets balanced?"]
~ Infrastructure funding renewal. UBCM represents local governments re: the Canada-Community Building Fund (formerly Gas Tax Fund). A new 10-year agreement with Ottawa was signed on April 1 last year and will deliver $3.5 billion to BC over the next decade; half of it is dedicated to Greater Vancouver, and funds are also hived off for BC Transit, Trans-Link and non-profits. The amount is indexed to rise incrementally each year. See UBCM page + 2018 UBCM outcomes report.
Sooke received approx. $630k in 2023 + the new agreement will deliver (over the next five years) approx. $750,000 per year through 2027 and $780,000 per year for 2028 and 2029. Funding to Sooke over the years has gone towards multiple road, trail and other infrastructure improvements, master-planning documents, the Fred Milne turf field, the SEAPARC weight room/fitness studio and more. [A permanent doubling of the $293 million transferred to BC as happened in 2019 and 2021 would be much appreciated, of course.]
- Investing In Canada Infrastructure Program (now in its final year)
- Community transition support via the BC Rural Economic Diversification and Infrastructure Program
Budget 2025 Feedback on my Facebook page from Ellen Lewers
"What about the rest of the taxes??? Want or need? What about the $30,000 for a rainbow crosswalk when a highly visible white crosswalk costs $1200-$1500? Strategic plan states fiscal responsibility.
What about a $4.4 million parks budget?. How about sandbags for playing ball and bring your own soccer ball to kick around instead of expensive jungle gyms and water parks? Playgrounds are where children learn to be creative. If we do it for them they don’t enhance their own creative play and skills."
My reply: "Hi Ellen, here's my full-scale take on the 2025 budget in progress - arguably another budget of needs, not wants (i.e. police, fire, asset management reserve fund, union contracts) https://www.jeffbateman.ca/blog/budget-2025
The $4.4m parks number you mention is the capital budget, and it includes the $2.7m Little River bridge/trail (federal and provincial funds) and the Ravens Ridge Park development ($750k from the Province's one-time 2023 Growing Communities Fund grant to Sooke). The actual budget for Parks & Environmental Services is approx. $1.3m to cover staffing and "the planning, design, construction and maintenance of municipal facilities, parks, trails, green spaces and environmental planning and stewardship." (The $1.3m number is on pg. 47 of last year's Five-Year Plan, we've yet to see this kind of detailed breakdown yet for this year.)
Crosswalks: As per Cllr. McMath's motion on Monday night based on some numbers I found re: a CHEK report that City of Victoria spent $18k repainting three Pandora Street rainbow crosswalks in June 2023, District staff are tasked with preparing a report on a possible rainbow crosswalk on Church Rd. using a $6k benchmark. As the Mayor said, one message she's heard from the hundreds of youngsters she's interacted with over the last decade and more is that they want Sooke to have its own roadside rainbow message of inclusivity as is now increasingly common in municipalities across Canada. The staff report clearly recommended "up to $30k" for this purpose. Several of us questioned the timing of this kind of expense in light of the proposed tax increase (which council has asked be reduced to 10%) and the fact we'd just voted that night (4-2) to delay the council by-election in part due to how much these voting days cost (likely $50k or more apiece) and the fact we may need two or three voting windows this year. I noted that inclusivity is baked into section 4.11 of the pending OCP ("Equitable Community") with the goal of "create a safe and resilient community for all" (pg. 147). I also noted that some BC communities are finding other, less costly, ways to celebrate diversity -- i.e., rainbow benches, street banners, even rainbow sidewalks that experience less wear and tear than road surfaces. We'll discuss more when the report comes back.
I agree with you about the upsides of free-range children (as i was back in the distant day, living in a safe suburban setting, roaming with a pack of friends and staying entertained with yes, a soccer ball or a tennis ball that I'd slam hundreds of times against the garage door to my dad's understandable annoyance as I developed what remains pretty good hand-eye coordination). Times have changed, however, and parents do want modern playgrounds and spray parks for their youngsters ... wants in the eyes of some, yet needs for others. (There's no spray park in the current five-year budget; instead there are line items for repairs and maintenance, playground equipment safety replacements, maintenance of the pier and boardwalk, new fencing at Ed Macgregor Park, improvements to the frankly pretty shabby parks office at the works yard, and other essentials. The memorial wall might qualify as a 'want,' I suppose, but a rather significant and meaningful one, we and many believe.)
Bottom line: Sincere thank you, Ellen, for almost always showing up at meetings and sharing your views and opinions in continuing your multi-decade tradition of engagement and necessarily tough questions."
Archive of my earlier budget posts
- Budget 2023 Starter
- Budget 2022
- 2020/21
- CRD (2019)
- Budget 2019
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