Courtesy of the City of Williams Lake:
At its meeting May 7, Williams Lake City Council adopted the 2013 budget and five-year financial plan, and gave first three readings to the 2013 tax Rate Bylaw.
The budget proposes no changes to water and sewer fees, no long-term borrowing, and proposes a 1.97% tax revenue increase, the lowest in eight years.
The budget totals $32.5 million, with $12.3 million in capital spending and $18.8 million in operating costs. Capital projects include the widening and repaving of South Lakeside Drive from Hodgson Road to the Seventh Day Adventist Church, a pedestrian overpass connecting Mackenzie Avenue and the River Valley Trail, and public wi-fi at City Hall and the Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex. A project to repave the Williams Lake Regional Airport runway is dependent on a $7 million federal grant.
The proposed 1.97% tax increase is the lowest rate increase since 2005. Since then, tax revenue increases have averaged over 3%. The increase would mean an additional $15.33 per $100,000 of assessed value for the residential rate class, an additional $20 per $100,000 for the business rate class, and $1,597 per $100,000 for the heavy industry rate class. Property tax distribution will remain the same in 2013: Residential, 38%; Business, 25%; Industry, 22%, and other (Light Industry/Utilities/Farm Rec-Non Profit), 15%.
Williams Lake’s Business class rate as of 2012, $1.88 per $1,000 of assessed value, was more competitive than rates in comparable resource-based and northern communities (between $12/$1,000 and $25/$1,000) and is very close to the provincial average of $11.138/$1,000. The City is also completing initiatives in 2013 with the goal of making City Hall more business-friendly, including highlighting tax exemption programs and working with business groups to enhance opportunities. In addition, Council is looking forward to working with the Williams Lake and District Chamber of Commerce to find additional ways to be business friendly.
New assessment growth of $211,000 exceeded expectations, and helped to offset budget pressures from increased fixed costs, decreased revenues, and the loss of some industrial assessment.
Council has continued its practice of strategic long-term planning throughout the 2013-2017 Financial Plan, with capital reserves expected to grow each year of the plan, beginning in 2014. Both the water fund and sewer fund reserves currently contain more than $2 million for future infrastructure needs.
In 2012, Council improved the budget process by adopting a provisional budget in December. The provisional budget was formed from departmental business plans and Council’s strategic priorities, and developed throughout the summer and fall at a series of meetings with public input opportunities. Council was able to receive earlier input, and more overall input into the budget as it was developed.
“Council and staff worked hard to continue to offer a high standard of services, complete important capital projects such as the South Lakeside project, and keep tax increases to a minimum,” says Williams Lake Mayor Kerry Cook. “We are continuing to lay the groundwork for smart, strategic budgets in the future by investing now in our capital reserves, which is how South Lakeside will be completed without the need for long-term borrowing. We’ve made a huge improvement to our budget process, and I look forward to Finance Committee ideas to improve it even further.”
The Tax Rate Bylaw will be considered for adoption at a special meeting of Williams Lake Council on Tuesday, May 14 at 6pm
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