THE City of North Vancouver ratified its 2012 budget Monday, despite opposition from the mayor and two members of council.
In a March 26 finance committee meeting, councillors supported a two per cent tax hike, which will bring city hall an additional $800,000. This money will be split evenly between the operational budget and capital projects.
The overall city budget is $58.3 million, of which $20.7 million goes to fire and police, $8 million for public works, $12.4 million for leisure and culture, $12.6 million for general government operations and the remaining $4.6 million will be transferred to a general project fund.
Coun. Guy Heywood said he didn't want to "grandstand" during this year's budget process. But, he said, "I am willing to go along with a one per cent increase and a one per cent increase for infrastructure with some reluctance. I think we should look, as an ambition for next year, at whether we can achieve one year with a zero tax increase. I would set that out as a goal for the coming year."
Coun. Craig Keating, who was absent from the finance committee debate, said the budget is "poor financial planning" that probably wouldn't cover upcoming labour settlements without cuts in other areas.
"It doesn't even meet basic inflation," he said. "Everyone knows that electricity has gone up by seven per cent; gasoline will continue to go up. This is the kind of budget-making that regularly across North America makes for disasters."
Keating was particularly galled by his colleagues' decision to vote down an extra one per cent levy to help pay for redeveloping Harry Jerome recreation centre.
"That is wrong. . . . I believe in a much more conservative, frankly conservative and realistically conservative position, which is that you save and you spend when you've made those savings. If you want a new Harry Jerome . . . everyone in this room and everyone in this community knows one thing - it's going to be stinking expensive. Let's start saving now."
Mayor Darrell Mussatto said he "couldn't agree more." "I do think we have to start saving some funds now," he said, noting that the still-undefined project could be bankrolled through some combination of taxes, borrowing and density or land sales. "But we can't rest solely on selling land. Eventually we'll run out of land and that's a fool's game."
"It would be much easier to support the one per cent levy for Harry Jerome," said Coun. Pam Bookham, "if we knew what we were going to do. But when we derailed the discussion that was taking place last year, we made it very difficult to explain to taxpayers why, given the reserves we have, we would want to build up additional reserves when we don't have a plan in place."
Bookham said a Harry Jerome plan should have been hammered out in time to make it a referendum question in the 2011 civic election, and alluded to efforts by Keating and Mussatto to refocus the city on trails and other outdoor recreation infrastructure.
"I get the impression some people in council would be happy if we just got out of indoor recreation, but I don't think a majority of council is there," she said.
Council approved the draft budget 4-3, with Coun. Linda Buchanan joining Mussatto and Keating in the minority.
