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City of Powell River five-year financial plan ready for city council vote

Average house in city will face 4.4 per cent increase if councillors vote in favour
Financial plan

City of Powell River’s five-year financial plan has received its first three readings and will be up for final adoption on Monday, May 13.

This year’s plan, if adopted, will feature a 4.4 per cent increase for an average house in Powell River, assessed at $345,163. In terms of the difference between an average house in 2018 and an average house in 2109, with all city charges factored, the increase in taxation would amount to $121.60.

According to City of Powell River figures, the percentage change of city taxation increase will be dependent on the assessed value of the homes. For example, a property valued at $226,200 in 2019 would receive a 2.7 per cent change in taxation. A house valued at $1,017,900 would receive an 8.1 per cent change in 2019 over 2018.

In terms of the 2019 budget, operating expenses are calculated at $34,229,183, with capital expenses listed as $29,143,946.

At the city council meeting on Thursday, May 2, councillor Cindy Elliott said when the five-year financial plan bylaw was being addressed in the finance committee, there was a lot of information that was not particularly detailed that she would have preferred to have time to look at. She said, however, she understands the law requires having the five-year financial plan ready by a certain time.

“I’m committed to working as hard as I can to do better planning in the future, but I’m in favour of passing it at this time because that’s the responsible thing to do in order to keep operating,” said Elliott.

Councillor Rob Southcott said he appreciates the work done in preparing the financial plan and the hard work chief financial officer Adam Langenmaier has done.

“I appreciate having had the opportunity to work with him directly and chair the finance committee for the past few months,” said Southcott. “This was a real privilege for me.”

Southcott said the point he wanted to make is to reflect on Langenmaier’s statement at the end of his report that he presented to council in finance committee that the city has work to do going forward.

“I really want to see us do that; we worked very hard but we are not caught up to where we should be with reserves and a balance between our revenues and our expenditures,” said Southcott. “I see we have work ahead of us and I also accept this and appreciate this as a good point where we are at right now.”

In his report summary, Langenmaier stated that the city is not in a strong financial position to continue providing services at the level that has been historically expected. He also stated that the city has been able to continue with providing services at the expense of its capital program, reserve contributions and some staffing positions.

“Continuing this trend will result in severe infrastructure shortfalls in the future with a city that is not financially resilient to sudden changes in revenue,” stated Langenmaier. “Over the next number of years, the city must take steps to significantly decrease expenditures or significantly increase revenue to ensure long-term financial sustainability.”