Happy New Year to all Castlegar and area residents and citizens.
As you are reading this column the City of Castlegar council and staff will be working on the 2016 city budget. This is where decisions aremade on where to spend your tax dollars this year and to plan out a few years on capital and infrastructure projects that have beenprioritized.
Have you ever wondered where the money goes after you pay your property taxes? Here is a brief explanation.
The city collects property taxes on behalf of the region, the province for schools and other taxing jurisdictions. Forty-two per cent of yourtax bill stays with the City of Castlegar for municipal services, 36 per cent goes to the province, 18 per cent to the region and 4 per cent toother.
The city’s portion amounts to approximately $15 million, $12 million for general fund services and $3 million for sewer, water and theairport. An important thing to remember is that the city cannot by law run a deficit budget (which the provincial and federal Governmentcan). It should be noted that the city has no long term debt. This is something that we should all be proud of.
Of the $12 million for general fund services, the breakdown goes like this: 30 per cent to policing, fire and emergency services to keep thecity safe, 23 per cent to transportation services, 22 per cent togeneral government with the other 25 per cent going to planning anddevelopment, public health, recreation, culture and environmental protection.
The water, sewer, and airport funds break even with some funds being set aside for future infrastructure expenses.
The city has approximately 11.6 million in capital expenses in their five year financial plan. Many of these projects are ready to go1 but thecity is always applying for infrastructure grants from both the provincial and federal governments to help offset the costs. Some examples ofthis are $400,000 for Millenium Ponds, $100,000 for the Connors Rd. bicycle path, $250,000 to shore up the berm around the Northendsewer lagoon and $250,000 for upgrades to the city water system, these were all from the provincial government. In some cases where wecan secure provincial and federal grants we may get one-third, one-third, one-third, funding which means that a million dollar project onlycosts the city $333,000.
Council works very hard putting this budget together trying to keep in mind the needs of the community. You as citizens have a chance tobe heard by speaking with council members, attending the open house before the budget is adopted or dropping into City Hall andspeaking with staff. The open house will most likely be held in March as the budget must be fully adopted on or before May 15. Watch foradvertising for the open house in the newspapers, on the radio, on the city’s website and on social media. This is your chance to have yoursay in what you want to see for the future of Castlegar. I hope that this brief column has helped you to understand some of the city’sbudgeting procedures.
