District of West Vancouver council is hoping buying time will save money.
Council was set pass its 2020 budget Monday night, bringing with it a 4.35-per cent tax increase, but council members voted instead to delay until just prior to the provincial deadline to give staff more time to assess the impacts the COVID-19 pandemic is going to have on the district’s revenues and costs.
“We are currently reviewing all of the expenditures and all of the obligations that the district has with a view to bringing forward a budget that will continue to support and provide the essential services that the community expects but will look at doing that within the new financial realities which we are facing,” said Isabel Gordon, the district’s director of finance.
The vote to hold off until council had more accurate forecasts was unanimous. Council members all attended the meeting via teleconference to follow public health guidelines and reduce the risk of transmission of coronavirus.
Mayor Mary-Ann Booth expressed frustration at the disarray and said council will err on the side of a more conservative budget.
“This is a $400 million budget of operating, capital and various funds. So far over 450 employees have been laid off. Programs have been cancelled and facilities have been closed. There's likely more layoffs coming, so it is a moving target each day and sometimes each hour, especially with the provincial and federal announcements around funding relief and activity restrictions,” she said. “So we'll be looking for every available cost-cutting measure we can find, moving to only essential services for the next three to six months, and really sticking to the bare necessities”
By law, every municipality in B.C. must have its budget passed by May 15. Council will get another look at its books and a potential tax increase next on April 20. Because of the tight timeline and restrictions on public gatherings, public consultations on the budget will be limited, the district’s CAO acknowledged.
Coun. Craig Cameron said the extra three weeks will give staff time to paint a more accurate picture of revenue and cost forecasts, but added that it’s very likely council will have to continue to make amendments to the financial plan perhaps into the fall.
Gordon said she had spoken with her counterparts in the two North Vancouvers. The District of North Van, she said, would be proceeding with its three-per cent tax increase. The city is projecting an increase of 4.35 per cent, which they will likely review before the deadline.
Couple odd scenes from tonight's historic council meeting in #WestVan pic.twitter.com/DZeG10eXMt
— Brent Richter (@BrentRichter) March 31, 2020
