Digital sign revenues will be used to whittle down this year’s property tax increase to 1.96 per cent.
Staff recently presented council with the proposed 2014 to 2018 financial plan, which includes this year’s budget. After starting out with a proposed 2.59 per cent increase, which included a base budget and some additional priority items, staff brought some adjustments that called for a 2.12 per cent increase.
Council then asked staff to do a bit more work on the budget, and bring back an increase of two per cent or less. Some councillors suggested the city could use bonus payments for the digital signage to bring the tax increase down.
On Monday, council considered a staff report stating that i$100,000 from the digital signage bonus revenues could reduce this year’s tax increase to 1.96 per cent. Alternatively, staff stated that the city could draw $100,000 from last year’s surplus to achieve a 1.96 per cent interest.
Coun. Jonathan Cote said he’s comfortable using the digital signage revenue, but believes a city should have a more formal policy on the use of those funds in the years to come.
Coun. Betty McIntosh questioned staff about the surplus from 2013’s budget.
Colleen Ponzini, the city’s manager of financial services, said the 2013 surplus could be upwards of $1.5 million.
“It’s a real guess at this time,” she told council. “It looks like it could be a healthy surplus.”
On Monday, council approved in principle a 1.96 per cent increase to property taxes.
Community members will be invited to comment on the budget at a council meeting in March. The city is aiming to approve the 2014 to 2018 financial plan in late March.
New Westminster resident Christopher Bell attended Monday night’s council meeting to ask the city to offer public workshops on the budget as it had done a number of years ago. He suggested those meetings would be a way of addressing residents’ concerns about issues such as the “financial turmoil” that would occur if the Merchant Square office tower being built on top of the new civic centre isn’t sold as the city hopes.
Bell also posed questions about issues such as the state of the city’s reserves and new staffing positions that don’t require council’s support as they were approved by staff. Rather than answering any of Bell’s questions at Monday night’s meeting, staff said they would get a copy of his questions and incorporate the responses into the public process being done as part of this year’s budget.
In addition to the property tax increases, council approved increases to utility rates for 2014, which will see water rates rise by six per cent, sewer rates grow by 8.5 per cent and solid waste rates go up by one per cent. Electrical rates have yet to be finalized.
