The Cariboo Regional District (CRD) directors endorsed the 2014 provisional budgets and financial plans at their regular meeting on Dec. 13.
CRD chair Al Richmond says it will present the provisional budget to South Cariboo residents at the District of 100 Mile House council chambers on Feb. 27 (time to be determined).
While still provisional, the five-year financial plan calls for an overall tax requisition increase of 2.5 per cent, with 1.4 per cent for new services and 1.1 per cent representing inflationary increases occurring in 2013.
“That doesn’t mean everybody is going to see a 2.5 per cent increase,” Richmond notes.
“But in our overall budget, we are looking at a maximum of 2.5, so that includes some of the items we went to referendum on.”
The referendums approved support for the South Cariboo Recreation function, for which the residential tax rate (for those affected) increases by $13.87 per $100,000 of assessed property value; and adding some South Cariboo Search and Rescue (SAR) funding at $.82/$100,000.
While the increase for SAR adds $25,000 to its budget as planned, the recreation increases are, so far, less than the maximum of about $20/$100,000 in the referendum.
“We are looking at minimal increases. We have seen fire departments getting a little top-up to build up money for reserves, but they’re not really all that significant,” Richmond explains.
“We have an increase [of eight per cent] in the South Cariboo Airport budget, which again in numbers is a large amount of money [up $16,541], but its not really very much money [up $.43/$100,000 in residential tax rates].”
He says the funding is also to build up airport reserves for upcoming improvements to runways and other capital projects.
Richmond notes the board recently allocated $5,500 from the current budget for the Forest Grove Curling Rink, and the new business plan includes a goal to enter into a three-year contribution agreement with the Forest Grove Lions Club that runs the rink.
The Lone Butte Fire Protection 2014 business plan will be amended to add $10,000 in requisitions to apply directly to its depleted capital reserves.
Two other sub-regional consultations will take place the same week in the Central and North Cariboo, he notes.
Prior to preparing its provisional budget, the CRD held town-hall meetings in each of the electoral areas and municipalities at the beginning of the financial planning process in the fall of 2013. In past years, the town-hall meetings were done after the documents were put together, but before their release.
The provisional budget and plan for the various functions are posted online at www.cariboord.bc.ca under the What’s New, Agendas, for the CRD regular board meeting held Dec. 13.
