“I’m back…!” Budget season, that is. And unlike, Jack Nicholson in The Shining, it is not a horror for Summerland council.
Council started our lengthy budget deliberations on Oct. 25 this year, beginning with a re-commitment to our strategic priorities as we enter the final year of our four-year term. Of course, when council begins talking about the 2022 budget, many weeks of work have already been undertaken by the director of finance and the entire senior management team.
Using council’s strategic priorities as guidance, management identifies projects that are important for delivery of their department services.
READ ALSO: Summerland’s proposed budget requires $16,382,355
READ ALSO: COLUMN: Careful planning involved in proposed municipal budget
For example, works and infrastructure will consider a number of factors as they determine which projects to bring forward to council during budget discussions. In order to determine priority projects, the management team will first refer to the district’s asset management plan and their master plans – water, sidewalks, roads, etc.
These guiding documents, particularly the asset management plan, provide reliable information on which components of the district’s $536 million of infrastructure is nearing end of life or requires maintenance or replacement. (As a reminder, infrastructure includes electrical, water and sewer systems; municipal-owned buildings including recreational facilities; roads; parks, sports fields and beaches, etc.)
In determining priorities, departments also have to assess the project’s level of risk; the availability of human resources; where the project is in the five-year financial plan, and so on.
Once departments have determined their priorities – both capital and operational – and before they come before council, they discuss their draft budgets with the director of finance.
These sessions are very important to the budget process, as the finance director knows the district’s overall financial picture. Department heads present their business cases for their proposed priorities and then, if necessary, will work with the director of finance to rework their priorities.
Before council adopts the 2022 Tax Rates Bylaw at the end of April, nine more discussions are scheduled in the financial plan timeline. Many of these sessions run three or more hours and are in addition to regular council meetings. All meetings are open to the public.
Two public open houses are being held in addition to the noted discussions: one to introduce the utility budgets and proposed utility rate increases (Thursday, Dec. 2) and one to present the general fund budgets (i.e.: parks, roads, bylaw, etc.) as well introducing the 2022-2026 Financial Plan Bylaw (Thursday, Feb. 3.)
When council is making decisions on which projects will be included in the financial plan – and where in the 2022-2026 time frame they will scheduled – in addition to the operational aspects of the decision (business case and risk assessment), we must consider two more political aspects: the level of service expected of our citizens, and their willingness to pay.
Unfortunately, the two do not always align.
Sometimes citizens are not willing (or not able) to pay for an expected level of service. It is a careful balancing act and council is required to make the decisions that will benefit the most people in our community.
Budget season. And so it begins…
Toni Boot is the mayor of Summerland.
To report a typo, email:
news@summerlandreview.com.
news@summerlandreview.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.