2024 Budget

Hi Daren, 

Thank you for reaching out again. We have strived to answer your direct questions but let us try again to ensure you get the information you're after! 

You asked: How much did the last Oscar street building cost to build and how many units were built? (This will give approximate per unit cost)

The Oscar Street building was actually a Revelstoke Community Housing Society project. They will have the information you're after about this project.   

You asked: What projects are held up until the DCC are upgraded? 

The Transportation Master Plan projects (page 9 of the Budget Guide for reference). These will start once the Development Cost Charges Bylaw has been updated (expected in 2024). 

You asked: What % of overall budget is for administrative costs? And What is the % difference from 5 years ago ? 

As with all wages across the province, and the country, they have increased due to the impacts of inflation. The percentage itself is roughly the same (changing to include necessary, council-approved positions) and stands at approximately 3.5%. This covers all the hours our bylaw, planning and development, corporate services, finance and engineering teams dedicate to the community, and all the hours dedicated by their associated clerks. 

You asked: We have many working in city hall now that are being paid salaries, why do you need $250,000 for arena next steps when most involved are already being paid? 

Firstly, we'd like to clarify that the majority of our City Hall staff are employed under the CUPE union branch 363 and receive hourly wages. 

Now, the $250,000 needed to pay external companies (with qualifications outside of planning, bylaw, corporate services, finance, engineering) to run a feasibility study so that we can determine which contractors to hire, what building work needs to be done for safety reasons vs. what work would be nice to have done; and allocate funds accordingly - all based on what engaged members of the community have told us they want to see within the potential new facility. We don't want to rush such a large project and a) misinterpret the community's needs/desires vs what they are willing to pay, or b) end up needing more money/time to make improvements that could be prevented by taking the extra measures now. 

You asked: Why is it taking so long to update DCC’s? 

To clarify, the TalkRevelstoke platform is an engagement tool between the community and City staff. This question relates directly to a decision that Council has made, in which they have set the City staff's priorities elsewhere. We would recommend directing this question to Council themselves. 

Thank you for your effort to ensure we're on the same page. Moving forward, it's important to note that the engagement session for the 2024 budget came to an end on December 10, following which Council directed staff to proceed with a 5% taxation increase for 2024, which includes the operating and capital spending initiatives listed in the public budget guide. You can watch the meeting in which Council came to this decision here: https://www.youtube.com/live/JOru6gU2cO8?si=LFivqx0CRo2nvgBj 

Thank you again for taking the time to participate in this budget engagement!

Hi Meg,

Thank you for taking the time to engage in the 2024 budget process. Your feedback is valued by both staff and Council. Your feedback was not included in the published agenda today, however it has been forwarded directly to Council to review prior to making a decision on the 2024 budget.

Hello Daren, 

Below includes answers to the questions you propose in order:

1. The $300,000 is to acquire a portion of trail along the dike adjacent to the Illecillewaet River to provide a connected greenbelt trail. 
2. The $250,000 is to fund next steps which includes further engagement with the community / feasibility study / Concept Designs etc.
3. To host a public information session for item’s such as the housing summit, the approximate cost to the City is $2,000 - $3,000. 
4. While the reference to administrative costs is quite broad, the reflected taxation increase on things like staff wages increases based on inflation and any new positions that are approved through spending initiatives. Increased fee for services and new taxation revenue from development have helped cover the increase in administrative costs. The average annual taxation increase for the last 10 years has been approximately 3.5%. With a growing community like Revelstoke and expanding tax base with new development, more administrative resources are required to provide adequate levels of service for the community. 
5. Sewer user rates increased significantly in 2022 and 2023 to pay for required capital infrastructure upgrades. The proposed increase for 2024 is 5%. New development pays DCCs to cover offsite impacts to things like sewage treatment infrastructure. With master planning complete based on anticipated growth, the City is in the process and will be continuing through 2024 to update the Development Cost Charges Bylaw. Staff will also be exploring implementation of the new Amenity Cost Charges system recently introduced by the province through Bill 46. More information related to the Development Cost Charges Bylaw update will be released in the coming months.
6. I am unsure what you mean by “per unit cost per build”?  Is this referring to cost per square foot of new builds? If so this is a question better suited to the development community who will have the most up to date rates based on labour and construction material costs. 
7. The Transportation Master Plan projects on the bottom of page 9 of the budget guide will be added to the budget once the Development Cost Charges Bylaw has been updated.

Your feedback is valued by both staff and Council.

Hi Jay,

Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback on the 2024 budget process. Your feedback is valued by both staff and Council. At a first glance, page 11 of the budget guide appears to be optimistic. However, the debt and reserve graphs on page 11 do not include future major projects that are currently 'unfunded'. The intent of this page is to demonstrate that the City is actively paying down debt and building reserves, so that in the future the City is able to pay for larger projects listed on the bottom of page 9. The future major projects listed on page 9 require more information before being added to financial plan. 

I am glad to hear you found the documents easy to follow. The feedback is appreciated and helps staff create meaningful content for the community.

Hi Nick,

Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback during the 2024 budget process. Your feedback is valued by both staff and Council. In the last 10 years, the average annual tax rate and user fee increase has been as follows:

• Property Taxes – 3.5%
• Water Utility Fees – 4.9%
• Big Eddy Water Utility Fees – 5.2% (annual average for 6 years)
• Sewer Fees – 9.5%
• Garbage Fees – 2.9%

Please note, if your property is subject to sewer fees, rates were increased significantly in 2022 and 2023 to pay for deficiencies in capital infrastructure.

You are correct. If you have seen an increase in assessed value on your property by more than the average increase for the entire community, it will result in a larger tax rate increase for the year. All assessed values in the community are determined by BC Assessment. Annual assessment values are released in January and if you do not agree with your assessed value, I encourage you to reach out to BC Assessment directly (Contact Us (bcassessment.ca)).

Hi Robyn,

Thank-you for the feedback. Staff have been and will continue to work to review the viability of a Climate Coordinator Position in the City to deliver on key climate objectives. Your feedback is valued by both staff and Council.