From the desk of Regional Director Robyn Mawhinney
Hello,
Some reports are more enjoyable to share than others. This isn’t one of the fun ones because it does not contain great news for Area C taxpayers. In early March I wrote about support service cost allocations. This report is an update on these cost allocations, with the news that Area C property owners will be receiving a tax increase in 2025, an increase that does not bring with it an increase in services: it is the result of a reallocation of administrative costs between municipalities and electoral areas.
Financial Planning surprises
The first surprise of the 2025 financial planning process came in February when the amended budget was not on the agenda as had been directed by the Board. The second surprise was that although in February the Board had moved to discuss support service cost allocations at a Committee of the Whole, a second staff report on the same allocations topic came to the Board March 26. The final surprise: following receipt of the second report on March 26, the Board moved to incorporate the formulas in the report into the 2025 financial plan.
The ‘overhead cost’ methodology being used since 2010 was deemed ‘illogical’, and the report outlined a more logical allocation based on current metrics. Previously, more of these overhead costs were allocated across the entire Regional District based on assessment, or based on the annual number of financial transactions in a service. Staff assessed the quantity of work being done for Electoral Areas, determined that Electoral Areas use a significant percentage of administrative & financial services due to the SRD being our only local government (unlike municipalities), and created an allocations plan which more equitably distributes the administrative costs.
Effects on Area C
According to the March 26 staff report, the increase will be $108.79 based on the average Area C residential property value of $655,135. For folks who are part of the QCove Sewer Service there’s a small brightness in this reallocation of costs: properties connected to QCove Sewer will experience a modest decrease in user fees. This is because the new methodology lowers costs to individual services and transfers the overhead costs into Electoral Area Administration, which is now distributed to all folios within the four electoral areas.
Special meeting
Due to these last-minute changes to the 2025 Financial Plan, a special meeting of the Board had to be held Monday March 31 to pass the amended financial plan bylaw. Regional Districts are legislated to pass their financial plans by March 31: I understand it is very unusual to wait till the last day possible to pass a financial plan, but that’s what happened this year at the SRD.
Tax deferment
For some folks this increase may be quite difficult. For those for whom property taxes are a hardship, the BC government has a property tax deferment program available to people aged 55 and over, and also a deferment program for families with children.
Connect
Thanks for taking the time to read this report. You can read the previous report on this topic here: robynmawhinney.ca/directors-report-support-service-cost-allocations. You’re welcome to connect with me with questions or concerns: email RMawhinney@srd.ca, or call 250.203.2468. If you’d like to chat in person, you can book an in-person meeting at calendly.com/robynmawhinney; my next Cove office date is April 24th.
Until next time,
Respectfully,
Director Robyn Mawhinney
Top image credit: early spring at the Cape Mudge lighthouse – All photos by Robyn Mawhinney