View Royal Citizen Budget Report 2024
Comprehensive data and participant comments from the Ethelo Citizen Budget simulation exercise.
View Royal Citizen Budget Report 2024
Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................... 4 Participation...................................................................................................................... 5 Participation Engagement............................................................................................ 5 Definition of terms............................................................................................................ 5 Budget Voting Results......................................................................................................7 Best Scenario............................................................................................................... 7 Protective Services.......................................................................................................8 Vote Distribution.....................................................................................................8 Top Comments.......................................................................................................8 Transportation Services................................................................................................9 Vote Distribution.....................................................................................................9 Top Comments.......................................................................................................9 Environmental Health Services.................................................................................. 10 Vote Distribution...................................................................................................10 Top Comments.....................................................................................................10 Parks Services............................................................................................................11 Vote Distribution................................................................................................... 11 Top Comments..................................................................................................... 11 Recreation and Cultural Services...............................................................................12 Vote Distribution...................................................................................................12 Top Comments.....................................................................................................12 Development Services................................................................................................13 Vote Distribution...................................................................................................13 Top Comments.....................................................................................................13 General Government Services................................................................................... 14 Vote Distribution...................................................................................................14 Top Comments.....................................................................................................14 Reserve Contributions and Debt................................................................................ 15 Vote Distribution...................................................................................................15 Top Comments.....................................................................................................15 Greater Victoria Public Library....................................................................................16 Vote Distribution...................................................................................................16 Top Comments.....................................................................................................18 West Shore Parks and Recreation............................................................................. 19 Vote Distribution...................................................................................................19 Top Comments.....................................................................................................20 Weighting of Service Importance................................................................................21 Demographic Survey Results........................................................................................ 22 Important Issues.........................................................................................................22 Overall Satisfaction.....................................................................................................22 Age............................................................................................................................. 23 Household income......................................................................................................23 Housing Status........................................................................................................... 24 Years lived in View Royal........................................................................................... 24 Appendix: All Comments............................................................................................... 25 Environmental Health Services (17)...........................................................................26 Transportation Services (10)...................................................................................... 27 Protective Services (9)............................................................................................... 28 General Government Services (5)..............................................................................29 Parks Services (13).................................................................................................... 30 Development Services (10)........................................................................................ 31 Reserve Contributions and Debt (8)...........................................................................33 Recreation and Cultural Services (13)........................................................................34 West Shore Parks and Recreation (12)......................................................................35 Greater Victoria Public Library (17)............................................................................ 36 Other (12)................................................................................................................... 38 Final Comments (9).................................................................................................... 39
Introduction
From March 11th to March 31st, 2024, the Town of View Royal used a budget simulation exercise called Ethelo Citizen Budget to gather public feedback to parts of their 2024-2028 Financial Plan. This includes budgets for operating and capital expenditures for all departments within the municipality.
The aim was to gather public input to identify priorities for municipal spending and ideas as to how the Town could deliver a balanced budget, as mandated for municipal governments by provincial legislation, while maintaining (and enhancing) services most important to citizens.
Participants were tasked with increasing, decreasing or maintaining their property tax funding for different budget categories, while staying within a balanced budget, in the same way that a city official would. Participants also voted on a sliding scale how important or unimportant each service was to them.
Ethelo used the results to generate a particular set of funding changes that are predicted to have the most community support. This report explores the engagement process and results.
Short summary of the report
The 50 validated participants collectively indicated the desire to decrease their average tax bill by $1 to $2,211, a decrease of less than 1%. This correlated to 6 service areas (Protective Services, Reserve Contributions and Debt, Transportation Services, General Government Services, Park Services, and Development Services) having no budget adjustment, and a 1% decrease to funding of Recreation and Cultural Services. The approval score for this budget was 82% with a low conflict level of 13%.
Overall satisfaction of service delivery was described by a majority of respondents (62%) as “fairly good value.”
Satisfaction with Environmental Health Services (EHS) and West Shore Parks and Recreation (WSPR) is mixed, with the greatest proportion of respondents indicating “fairly satisfied” (33%) with EHS and 13% indicating very satisfied. 50% of respondents indicated “neutral” satisfaction and 41% indicated “satisfied” or “very satisfied" with WSRP. The Greater Victoria Public Library (GVPL) garnered higher satisfaction rates, with over half of the respondents (53%) indicating they are “satisfied” (21%) or “very satisfied” (32%) with the services provided.
Participants contributed 135 comments, which generated 99 likes, indicating a good level of engagement and useful dialogue, which will be presented in more detail throughout this report.
Structure of the report
This report is divided into seven sections: Participation, Definition of Terms, Budget Voting Results, Environmental Health Survey Results, West Shore Parks and Recreation Satisfaction Survey Results, Greater Victoria Public Library Satisfaction Survey Results and Demographic Survey Results.
Participation
Over the 3 weeks that the engagement was live, the online platform garnered:
- 234 unique page views
- 50 validated participants
- 21% participation rate
- 96% of participants answered at least 25% of the questions
- 90% of participants answered at least 50% of the questions
- 75% of participants answered at least 75% of the questions
- 135 comments
Participation Engagement
The number of participants (50) was slightly down (13%) from 2023 (57). The participation rate of 21.3% was notably higher than in 2022 (10.7%). 75% of participants completed at least two-thirds of the questions, compared to 77% last year. As in previous years, it should be noted that the views presented in this summary report do not necessarily represent the views of all residents. Participants are self-selected to engage in the budget education tool and represent individual interests within the context of the broader community. In alignment with View Royal policies related to respectful dialogue, comments deemed disrespectful have been omitted from this summary report.
Definition of terms
Consensus (Ethelo score) is a measure of the overall strength of the decision, considering both support (higher is better) and conflict (lower is better).
Support is the average value of the votes, where the value of a totally opposing vote is 0 and a totally supportive vote is 100.
Conflict is a measure of the level of disagreement in a group. Higher conflict scores represent internal resistance and risk of failure.
Approval is the percentage of people who gave a positive vote rather than a neutral or negative vote. Approval above 50% is a traditional “majority”.
Budget Voting Results
Best Scenario
The “Best Scenario” represents the budget case that would be most widely supported by the most participants. The algorithm analyzed more than 50,000 budget design scenarios to identify this plan.
- Our Adjusted Tax Bill: $2,211.00
- Our Current Tax Bill: $2,212.00
- Tax Difference (%): -0.05%
The scenario with the widest support shows a net average tax decrease of $1. Participants indicated budgets for all service areas outside of Recreation and Cultural Services should be maintained, indicating a minor 1% decrease for the latter. Comparing each budget category, consensus is highest in Funding Protective Services (71%) and lowest in Funding for Development Services (62%) and General Government Services (62%). Conflict - the level of disagreement within the group - is highest in Funding for General Government Services (52%) and lowest in Funding Recreation and Cultural Services (23%).
| Service Area | Sentiment | Average Tax | Consensus | Support | Conflict | Approval |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Funding Protective Services | Keep the Same | $858 | 71% | 72% | 39% | 74% |
| Funding for Reserve Contributions and Debt | Keep the Same | $224 | 67% | 69% | 48% | 68% |
| Funding Transportation Services | Keep the Same | $535 | 67% | 68% | 45% | 68% |
| Funding for General Government Services | Keep the Same | $232 | 62% | 64% | 52% | 60% |
| Funding Recreation and Cultural Services | 1% Decrease | $119 | 67% | 61% | 23% | 60% |
| Funding for Parks Services | Keep the Same | $167 | 63% | 64% | 44% | 65% |
| Funding Development Services | Keep the Same | $76 | 62% | 62% | 42% | 64% |
| Overall | .05 % Decrease | $2,211 | 77% | 67% | 13% | 82% |
Support for the Group Results and Final Decision
68% of participants who responded supported the Group Results.
77% of participants who responded supported the Final Decision.
The sections below present specific findings for each service area, followed by a depiction of comments that received at least one “like.”
Protective Services
Vote Distribution (n=46)
Top Comments
“Service increases should mirror increases in population and infrastructure requiring the services, which shouldn’t result in overall increases for all. Drive for efficiencies and reduced costs.” 👍 4
“I am not convinced that View Royal needs to have the newest and best fire trucks in the CRD. I note that Powell River is selling their new truck as their current trucks are fine. Even before amalgamation View Royal Fire Department seemed to get what they want.” 👍 2
“I would agree with the comment below [comment #1 of these section]. More info is needed. Is there a master plan identifying future needs, replacement of equipment.” 👍 1
“This feels like a technical question - are we meeting our operational needs and investing in our capital plan?” 👍 1
Transportation Services
Vote Distribution (n=46)
Top Comments
"It depends what we fund. Two key things: 1) Lobby BC Transit and CRD for a frequent transit route west on the Highway to Six Mile/Thetis and Millstream. 2) Improve bus performance around Admirals-Old Island Highway (consider signal timing, lane configuration, bus queueing lanes).” 👍 1
“Why are we limited to a 4% increase? We need so much more in terms of pedestrian, bicycle and transit infrastructure improvements.” 👍 1
Environmental Health Services
Vote Distribution (n=48)
Top Comments
“Make the bins larger and come less often as the current contractor obviously can't keep up.” 👍 1
“Regular missed pick ups, no guarantee of glass being taken, most of our waste ends up in a heap rather than being reduced in any meaningful way through the waste management system... When central Alberta has better environmental policies and waste management, you have failed.” 👍 1
“Only needs to be every second week.” 👍 1
“I'm happy with the collection services as a whole, but wish there was an option to pay more for a second garbage can when you have a suite. We have a large family and a large suite with 3 college students. We are very intense about recycling everything, but still find it difficult some weeks to just have the 1 garbage can.” 👍 1
Parks Services
Vote Distribution (n=43)
Top Comments
“More and better waterfront access please (Portage Inlet and Esquimalt Harbour). Better connected trails. Let's keep investing in parks facilities: playgrounds, exercise stations, (covered) picnic spaces, natural areas, gardens, accessible walking trails, space for music. Consider 3-4 season use (sun and rain shelters).” 👍 2
“In times of fiscal responsibility, we all must tighten our belt. First thing that should go is beautification. You don’t buy flowers before putting gas in your car, if you are trying to save money.” 👍 2
“Do not change flowers, just plant food shrubbery like blueberries or some other low maintenance plants.” 👍 2
“Invest more in parks! Not the gardening, but the park facilities e.g. playgrounds, water fountains, basketball courts, tennis courts, etc. And we need an off leash fenced dog park!” 👍 1
“It is time to move the annual flower installations to perennials and encourage a more environmentally conscious longterm plan for our garden beds and planters around the town. This will of course ultimately save money not buying annuals and limit the cost of maintenance to just the labor in the longterm (ie. pruning, weeding, etc.).” 👍 1
Recreation and Cultural Services
Vote Distribution (n=42)
Top Comments
“I appreciate our access to the Greater Victoria Public Library (GVPL). But also realize that it is a huge cost to our town. I really wonder what our residents' usage is and hopefully GVPL can provide us with those numbers in the future.” 👍 1
“Economic climate dictates to decrease this area of the budget now, revisit in the future.” 👍 1
Development Services
Vote Distribution (n=42)
Top Comments
“I am very happy to see quality projects adding walkable homes and shops. Old Island Highway growing up, with a future grocery at the corner of Helcken, is great. I'd like us to do more on "missing middle" so we can support more families to find homes. We need to prioritize: 1) updating Amenity Cost Charge and DCC bylaws to keep pace with our needs and desires; 2) use professional urban design expertise - perhaps by contract or adding an in-house urban designer to review larger projects; and 3) update our zoning and design guidelines considering all our desires (tree planting, etc.) as we add new housing. All this takes resources. Let's get the resources we need, and not waste them tilting at windmills (resisting provincial legislation).” 👍 1
“Agree with reviewing the dcc bylaw. May not need to be updated but new developments should be contributing to new parks and infrastructure.” 👍 1
“Update to the OCP has been very slow. Support more housing, secondary sweets, cottages and multiplex buildings.” 👍 1
“Increase the tax rate on the developers; they will come regardless, the Town does not need to subsidize/incentivize them to build here. We are a large municipality owning key real estate between downtown and the Westshore. Please subsidize the residents here by increase taxes on the developers. They must be able to ameliorate any impacts on the surrounding community prior to pushing forward a new development. I do not believe this has been done well enough currently; the new developments along the Island Highway are likely to debilitate traffic flow...this is an outwardly visual depiction of developers not being held to account for their impact on municipal infrastructure. I hope the town is address the non-visual components (ie.sewer,water)” 👍 1
Decrease funding marginally to encourage responsible and conservative spending. If permit processing time is a problem, contract out or cross train some of the proposed new firefighter staff to help with admin. They would then better understand the developments and structures they are there to protect. One could also work with adjoining municipalities to hire 'floaters' to minimize the funding impact of staffing. 👍 1
General Government Services
Vote Distribution (n=40)
Top Comments
“Decrease funding marginally to encourage responsible and conservative spending. This area is responsible for much of the funding deficits and tax increases incurred by the citizens, as they juggle the regulations and guidance being imposed by higher authority, and the jockeying for power and ideological aspirations. The sway being imposed on them is huge, and they need to be kept in check. Fiscal responsibility is paramount here. I want to see the headline "View Royal is the first municipality in BC that is working within their budget and is proposing a 0.5% tax mill rate decrease, as they continue to place fiscal prudence ahead of ideologies" 👍 2
“Government employees should ALWAYS be striving to provide a better service at lower cost. If they cannot fulfill that goal, they should be invited onto a new job that they can excel at. Rewarding failure with more money is not effective.” 👍 1
Reserve Contributions and Debt
Vote Distribution (n=40)
Top Comments
“I more have concerns about reliance on casino funding and if that goes away how it will impact VR finances.” 👍 2
“Make use of that casino funding and the expanding tax base, rather than rate increases.” 👍 2
“In other words "Do you approve the 0.5% tax increase over and above inflation, starting in 2026?" The proposal of a 0.5% tax mill rate increase buried as a 'Reserve Contribution' would be (if applied to 2024) an increase of 7.8% onto the municipal tax payable by the citizens. (0.5%/6.4%x100) ...That would be inflation. Please...let's be fiscally responsible and not bleed the tax payers further.” 👍 2
“It is important that we stay on budget and budget for the unforeseen. This is what has gotten many governments in huge deficits and out of control.” 👍 1
“Use more of the Casino funds for reserves.” 👍 1
“No I do not approve the .5% tax increase over and above inflation rate. The inflation rate and tax base increases, should be more than enough. The town needs to learn to live within its means, just like the rest of us.” 👍 1
Greater Victoria Public Library
Vote Distribution (n=48)
Vote Distribution (n=35)
Vote Distribution (n=38)
Vote Distribution (n=35)
Vote Distribution (n=35)
Top Comments
“GVPL one of Canada's best public library systems!” 👍 3
“Our juan de fuca branch is one of the reasons we don't want to move from the area (our first reason being the view royal off leash park - please don't alter it)” 👍 1
“Expand multi-lingual books and programs. Would love to see the library partner to create a children's museum. I hope one day View Royal has the population to support a small branch like the Gaudy branch. Perhaps in cooperation with Songhees and Esquimalt Nations?” 👍 1
“I don’t use the library but view public libraries as an important investment in an equitable and inclusive community and society.” 👍 1
“Online access, reserve and pickup notifications are excellent. JdeF branch is good.” 👍 1
West Shore Parks and Recreation
Vote Distribution (n=48)
Vote Distribution (n=44)
Vote Distribution (n=42)
Vote Distribution (n=41)
Top Comments
“Rates are fair and there is a subsidy if needed (in response to the other respondent below).” 👍 1
“We are at the point where we need another pool and rec centre in the region. JDF Pool is often full, and kids programs are difficult to register for across the region. We should coordinate with the CRD, Saanich, etc. Perhaps at Pearkes or Cedar Hill Park/Rec Centre? Expansion of Esquimalt facility?” 👍 1
Weighting of Service Importance
The following chart shows the participants' overall relative importance of the seven services. Funding for Protective Services (17%) and Parks and Services (16%) were weighted as the most important. Funding for General Government services (12%), Development Services (13%) and Recreation and Cultural Services (13.3%) were weighted as the least important.
Demographic Survey Results
Important Issues (n=46)
What are the top three issues that should receive the greatest attention from View Royal Council?¹
Overall Satisfaction (n=47)
Thinking about all the services you receive from View Royal, how would you describe the value you receive for your tax dollars?
¹ Participants could select up to 3 choices.
Age (n=47)
Household income (n=47)
Housing Status (n=46)
Years lived in View Royal (n=47)
Appendix: All Comments
In total, there were 135 comments in this budget engagement compared to 139 in the 2023 engagement. The graph below shows how many comments were made on each program or service area as well as for platform feedback.
Environmental Health Services (17)
| Content | Reply Count | Like Count |
|---|---|---|
| Allow garden waste in organics | 2 | |
| Service is often unreliable | 1 | |
| Make the bins larger and come less often as the current contractor obviously can't keep up. | 1 | |
| Regular missed pick ups, no guarantee of glass being taken, most of our waste ends up in a heap rather than being reduced in any meaningful way through the waste management system... When central Alberta has better environmental policies and waste management, you have failed. | 1 | |
| only needs to be every second week | 1 | |
| I'm happy with the collection services as a whole, but wish there was an option to pay more for a second garbage can when you have a suite. We have a large family and a large suite with 3 college students. We are very intense about recycling everything, but still find it difficult some weeks to just have the 1 garbage can. | 1 | |
| I am very supportive of moving towards charging by the number of bags of garbage one produces (tag system). Let's incentivize less waste, which has GhG emission impacts. | ||
| Service has been subpar this past year but recognize that there have been staffing coverage challenges. | ||
| Change to every other week for garbage collection. It's way too often if you recycle and use the green bin. | ||
| The green bin system should also take yard waste. Also the requirement for the food waste to be in bags is extremely environmentally unfriendly - just because the guys don’t want to hook up the bin? Silly. | ||
| An excellent use of tax dollars, thank you. | ||
| I maybe put my containers out once a month. | ||
| I would be in favour of garbage collection every two weeks. | ||
| At least 25% of the time they don't show up for recycling or garbage collection... why aren't we getting a rebate from the company?? | ||
| It would be nice if we added infrequent or seasonal collection for more types of recycling, like soft plastic, as well as yard waste. It’s a hassle to get out to Hartland. Bagging kitchen scraps feels silly (Saanich doesn’t do this). I would also love to know if the introduction of programs like kitchen scraps has reduced the need for garbage collection. We now put out about 1 bag a month. | ||
| I resided in Saanich and having garbage/compost service every 2 weeks worked great. | ||
| Pickup and cancellations are too unpredictable, taxpayers have no room to store an extra weeks worth of garbage or food disposal, what with the more urgent need to prevent pests from infiltrating food waste, raccoons, rats and bears. Need better service every week. |
Transportation Services (10)
| Content | Reply Count | Like Count |
|---|---|---|
| It depends what we fund. Two key things: 1) Lobby BC Transit and CRD for a frequent transit route west on the Highway to Six Mile/Thetis and Millstream. 2) Improve bus performance around Admirals-Old Island Highway (consider signal timing, lane configuration, bus queueing lanes). | ||
| We need to invest in pedestrian safety, routes for bicycles and mobility devices, bus facilities (comfortable stops, sidewalk connections, queuing lanes and priority signalization). | 1 | |
| Why are we limited to a 4% increase? We need so much more in terms of pedestrian, bicycle and transit infrastructure improvements. | 1 | |
| Let's invest in ways to move busses through the worst congestion hot spots. | ||
| Fund increases through increase in property tax base, not in rate increases. | ||
| Need to move faster on safe affordable transportation. Separated bike lanes, sidewalks by schools and bus stops. | ||
| I was amazed that a perfectly good portion of Helmcken Road was repaved a few years ago and it was in excellent condition. | ||
| Maintain existing funding but do away with AMS. The concept of AMS depletes funds designated for infrastructure improvements, deflecting to administration which takes away from the actual services required. Less bureaucracy please. | ||
| We don't need any more bike lanes, they are for able-bodied people and not equitable for those with mobility issues, or other issues, like young children. Some people need vehicle transportation. | ||
| The compromise is improved bus access, thus would be much more important than bike lanes, and uses existing infrastructure, rendering it cheaper. | ||
| We need the AMS if we don’t want sudden, unplanned replacement costs. It seems very similar to a strata depreciation report. | ||
| We have a lot of beautiful infrastructure in View Royal, and I’d like it to stay that way. | ||
| We should continue to invest in active transportation and public transit improvements. Active transportation only works for some, but it also benefits drivers by reducing congestion (and wear, and pollution) on our roads. | ||
| Its time to put things on hold, after the excessive tax increases the last few years. Time to reduce costs and only perform the necessary work, not the ever ongoing wishful list of new things to do, |
Protective Services (9)
| Content | Reply Count | Like Count |
|---|---|---|
| This feels like a technical question - are we meeting our operational needs and investing in our capital plan? | 1 | |
| I would agree with the comment below. More info is needed. Is there a master plan identifying future needs, replacement of equipment. | 1 | |
| Service increases should mirror increases in population and infrastructure requiring the services, which shouldn’t result in overall increases for all. Drive for efficiencies and reduced costs. | 4 | |
| Keeping with inflation. I do not think we need a paid full time fire department. | ||
| I am not convinced that View Royal needs to have the newest and best fire trucks in the CRD. I note that Powell River is selling their new truck as their current trucks are fine. Even before amalgamation View Royal Fire Department seemed to get what they want. | 2 | |
| Decrease funding marginally to encourage responsible and conservative spending. | ||
| We recently spent a large amount of money for this. Time to keep it even for awhile. | ||
| Agreed with the comments asking how this matches operational needs and capital planning. I would not typically be inclined to reduce budget spend in this area, but there should be data backing the needs identified. | ||
| Decrease Protective Services. They have been profligate spenders for some time. I have to ask, is View Royal that dangerous, with fires everywhere all the time. No, of course not. This continual spending spree can be put on hold, given the more than fair treatment that Fire Services has had over the past decade. Can anyone say no to the Fire Chief, not this time? |
General Government Services (5)
| Content | Reply Count | Like Count |
|---|---|---|
| Decrease funding marginally to encourage responsible and conservative spending. This area is responsible for much of the funding deficits and tax increases incurred by the citizens, as they juggle the regulations and guidance being imposed by higher authority, and the jockeying for power and ideological aspirations. The sway being imposed on them is huge, and they need to be kept in check. Fiscal responsibility is paramount here. I want to see the headline "View Royal is the first municipality in BC that is working within their budget and is proposing a 0.5% tax mill rate decrease, as they continue to place fiscal prudence ahead of ideologies" | 2 | |
| Government employees should ALWAYS be striving to provide a better service at lower cost. If they cannot fulfill that goal, they should be invited onto a new job that they can excel at. Rewarding failure with more money is not effective. | 1 | |
| The staff in key supporting departments have always been helpful and knowledgeable. Pls consider that Increases or decreases in budget in other depts impact the general government departments. | ||
| Does maintaining services = maintaining funding level. Maintain current service levels. | ||
| This is one of the areas where huge savings could be achieved by amalgamation with Colwood or Esquimalt (just split VR in half). So much bloat for what is basically a commuter tunnel. Most folks on the south end of VR use Esquimalt services anyway, and folks on the north end use Colwood, since VR actually offers very little services, commercial, or retail stores that it can call its own. |
Parks Services (13)
| Content | Reply Count | Like Count |
|---|---|---|
| More and better waterfront access please (Portage Inlet and Esquimalt Harbour). Better connected trails. Let's keep investing in parks facilities: playgrounds, exercise stations, (covered) picnic spaces, natural areas, gardens, accessible walking trails, space for music. Consider 3-4 season use (sun and rain shelters). | 2 | |
| In times of fiscal responsibility, we all must tighten our belt. First thing that should go is beautification. You don’t buy flowers before putting gas in your car, if you are trying to save money. | 2 | |
| Do not change flowers, just plant foodshrubbery like blueberries or some other low maintenance plants. | 2 | |
| Invest more in parks! Not the gardening, but the park facilities eg playgrounds, water fountains, basketball courts, tennis courts, etc. And we need an off leash fenced dog park! | 1 | |
| It is time to move the annual flower installations to perennials and encourage a more environmentally conscious longterm plan for our garden beds and planters around the town. This will of course ultimately save money not buying annuals and limit the cost of maintenance to just the labor in the longterm (ie. pruning, weeding, etc.) | 1 | |
| Area Watkiss Way and West Burnside needs improvement and not just for the Handi dart, that in itself needs an upgrade to the surrounding area. Area of concern in first block past Watkiss Way right side grass area in culvert never gets cut. Extremely tall grass and can be a fire hazard. | 0 | |
| Why are we limited to a 4% increase? The improvements we've seen in recent years are great, I'd love to fund more of this to have great parks and trails. | ||
| I am a regular user of View Royal Park and am very satisfied with the status quo. I am not a dog owner, but have never been bothered by off-leash pets as I walk the paths. I strongly feel that a picnic area, if still desired, should be located at the ball fields where there exists washrooms, parking, and cooking facilities. It seems the diamonds are only fully utilized when the park is hosting infrequent tournaments. | ||
| I'll gladly pay for more park services, just think how the recent 'traffic calming' on Stormont Rd would look, if Parks were involved. | ||
| The current park by our home is rarely maintained. Not anxious to spend more money when our one area is always missed. | ||
| Times are tight, you don't focus on cosmetic factors (i.e.flowers) when a good portion of park maintenance in smaller parks is already being done by volunteers. And bigger parks.... I pick up a lot of trash on trails around the Mill Hill/Thetis area, and along the Goose towards Burnside, and even around Centennial Park. | ||
| I don't have disposable cash to spend buying annuals or cut flowers, so I sure as heck don't want to fork over more property taxes for someone else's flowers! Can we maybe just focus on cleaning up the parks we have? Emptying rank garbage bins in the hot summer, maintaining existing structures, etc.? | ||
| Its time to put things on hold, after the excessive tax increases the last few years. Time to reduce costs and only perform the necessary work, not the ever ongoing wishful list of new things to do, |
Development Services (10)
| Content | Reply Count | Like Count |
|---|---|---|
| There should be preapproved plans for decks and similar that could reduce the cost of permits. Because it’s so onerous, most contractors offer to do all work with no permits. | 3 | |
| Development services will likely need to grow in short term to manage changes resulting from recent provincial legislation. | 2 | |
| I am very happy to see quality projects adding walkable homes and shops. Old Island Highway growing up, with a future grocery at the corner of Helcken, is great. I'd like us to do more on "missing middle" so we can support more families to find homes. We need to prioritize: 1) updating Amenity Cost Charge and DCC bylaws to keep pace with our needs and desires; 2) use professional urban design expertise - perhaps by contract or adding an in-house urban designer to review larger projects; and 3) update our zoning and design guidelines considering all our desires (tree planting, etc.) as we add new housing. All this takes resources. Lets get the resources we need, and not waster them tilting at windmills (resisting provincial legislation). | 1 | |
| Agree with reviewing dcc bylaw. May not need to be updated but new developments should be contributing to new parks and infrastructure. | 1 | |
| Update to the OCP has been very slow. Support more housing, secondary sweets, cottages and multiplex buildings. | 1 | |
| Increase the tax rate on the developers; they will come regardless, the Town does not need to subsidize/incentivize them to build here. We are a large municipality owning key real estate between downtown and the Westshore. Please subsidize the residents here by increase taxes on the developers. They must be able to ameliorate any impacts on the surrounding community prior to pushing forward a new development. I do not believe this has been done well enough currently; the new developments along the Island Highway are likely to debilitate traffic flow...this is an outwardly visual depiction of developers not being held to account for their impact on municipal infrastructure. I hope the town is address the non-visual components (ie.sewer,water | 1 | |
| Decrease funding marginally to encourage responsible and conservative spending. If permit processing time is a problem, contract out or cross train some of the proposed new firefighter staff to help with admin. They would then better understand the developments and structures they are there to protect. One could | 1 | |
| also work with adjoining municipalities to hire 'floaters' to minimize the funding impact of staffing. | ||
| Please don’t make too many changes as this is the reason we stayed in VR for the last 30 years. Not too crowded.Taxes are reasonable. | ||
| The department does great, thoughtful work. | ||
| I search to find out what amount did View Royal receive $95,000 for Coastal Adaptation Plan – Hazard Mapping and Risk Assessment. Not sure what View Royal's plans are for using the funds. Not stated in the above description. |
Reserve Contributions and Debt (8)
| Content | Reply Count | Like Count |
|---|---|---|
| I more have concerns about reliance on casino funding and if that goes away how it will impact VR finances. | 2 | |
| Make use of that casino funding and the expanding tax base, rather than rate increases. | 2 | |
| In other words " Do you approve the 0.5% tax increase over and above inflation, starting in 2026?" The proposal of a 0.5% tax mill rate increase buried as a 'Reserve Contribution' would be (if applied to 2024) an increase of 7.8% onto the municipal tax payable by the citizens. (0.5%/6.4%x100) ...That would be inflation. Please...let's be fiscally responsible and not bleed the tax payers further. | 2 | |
| It is important that we stay on budget and budget for the unforeseen. This is what has gotten many governments in huge deficits and out of control. | 1 | |
| Use more of the Casino funds for reserves. | 1 | |
| No I do not approve the .5% tax increase over and above the inflation rate. The inflation rate and tax base increases, should be more than enough. The town needs to learn to live within its means, just like the rest of us. | 1 | |
| My property "value" went up, and on a value that is higher than last year, you still want to charge me more than inflation on the property tax? No! Figure out how to make ends meet on the same funds you had last year... it's what all of your citizens are doing!! | ||
| I am continually amazed and a little concerned at how low our property taxes are compared to surrounding municipalities. We may be too dependent on casino revenue, which both feels risky and doesn’t spread costs out evenly amongst everyone. |
Recreation and Cultural Services (13)
| Content | Reply Count | Like Count |
|---|---|---|
| Economic climate dictates to decrease this area of the budget now, revisit in the future. | 1 | |
| I appreciate our access to Greater Victoria Public Library (GVPL). But also realize that it is a huge cost to our town. I really wonder what our residents' usage is and hopefully GVPL can provide us with those numbers in the future. | 1 | |
| While we are part of Westshore rec, it would be great to see a little rec and arts facility grow in View Royal. Perhaps collaborate with the Community Hall to increase programming space (with below-market housing above), strengthening our little Main Street. Or if they are not interested, then at Eagle Creek? A place for art classes, exercise and programs for all ages, an art studio, and child care? | ||
| Let’s maintain current service levels and not look for new ways to spend taxpayer dollars | ||
| View Royal had no vision around Culture, Arts or Recreation. | ||
| Fiscal responsibility before ‘luxury’ In times of surplus… spend away. In times of belt tightening, you can only fund so much without bleeding tax payers dry for their disposable income. | ||
| Library funding is funding that is being bled for antiquated and underused infrastructure and administration. This is sorely in need of revamp and realignment with digital trends. The closing of our local branch is a perfect example of the weakness here. Less funding needs to be assigned, to force the necessary changes. | ||
| no need for libraries any longer | ||
| Libraries aren't just books... they provide computers and internet access, safe places to meet up i.e. tutoring or language learning, children's programming, and even music/movies! | 1 | |
| You clearly haven't been in a library or needed one in a long time. Libraries provide so much equity of access to resources and programs, as well as digital access (computers, ebooks, etc). If you think we don't need libraries, congratulations on having so much privilege that you can buy all the internet access, information access, and streaming services you could ever want. | 1 | |
| Why? Because you don't use one? Have you been to one recently? Seen who uses them? There are more folks in this town than just your demographic. | 1 | |
| GVPL is excellent and is one of the first amenities I recommend to newcomers to the Victoria area. If anything they need to better promote the range of services available, as many people think they | ||
| only have physical books to offer. I also donate directly to GVPL, it’s that important. | ||
| Its time to put things on hold, after the excessive tax increases the last few years. Time to reduce costs and only perform the necessary work, not the ever ongoing wishful list of new things to do. The Internet has been around long enough that books can be digitally bought and rented instead of hardcopies. |
West Shore Parks and Recreation (12)
| Content | Reply Count | Like Count |
|---|---|---|
| Rates are fair and there is a subsidy if needed (in response to the other respondent below). | 1 | |
| We are at the point where we need another pool and rec centre in the region. JDF Pool is often full, and kids programs are difficult to register for across the region. We should coordinate with the CRD, Saanich, etc. Perhaps at Pearkes or Cedar Hill Park/Rec Centre? Expansion of Esquimalt facility? | 1 | |
| Rates need to be lowered to allow low income’s to participate and afford some of the programs | ||
| No option to not answer Qs 2-4 when the answer to 1 is NEVER. Poorly designed survey. | ||
| Good programs that are important for families. I used the services more when my children were younger and look forward to using them more when I’m older and have more time. These are important services for family friendly communities. | ||
| Continue expanding it! The skate park was a great idea. | ||
| Need separated bike lanes to actually get there safely from view royal | ||
| The verbiage of the summary above hints at the proposed tax increase for 2026 in this budget. Don't be fooled by the discrete wording. The proposed 0.5% tax mill rate increase for 2026 and beyond, is not acceptable. | ||
| Subsidy is not easily accessible. | 1 | |
| Too small, spaces in programs are too limited, as anyone knows who has been in line at 4am to try to register a child for overpriced swimming lessons or summer camps. | ||
| It's a very important facility that provides services from children to seniors. Also, provides services to multiple municipalities. Very difficult to get to with a bike. Recommend the programs/facilities are up to-date to serve the community. | ||
| Are some of the programs even required, or are they 'nice to have' instead of being necessary? |
Greater Victoria Public Library (17)
| Content | Reply Count | Like Count |
|---|---|---|
| GVPL one of Canada's best public library systems! | 3 | |
| Our juan de fuca branch is one of the reasons we don't want to move from the area (our first reason being the view royal off leash park - please don't alter it) | 1 | |
| Expand multi-lingual books and programs. Would love to see the library partner to create a children's museum. I hope one day View Royal has the population to support a small branch like the Gaudy branch. Perhaps in cooperation with Songhees and Esquimalt Nations? | 1 | |
| The library has been amazing. Before kids, for reading. With a family, for all sorts of programming, books, etc. And I work remotely so appreciate having the chance to work from libraries. | 1 | |
| I don’t use the library but view public libraries as an important investment in an equitable and inclusive community and society. | 1 | |
| Online access, reserve and pickup notifications are excellent. JdeF branch is good. | 1 | |
| Why do we still pay for this at times of omnipresent internet. Would be better to spend our money providing computers to those who don‘t have them to access the net… | ||
| Don’t use any of the libraries. | ||
| The online accessible books and magazine offered by GVPL is amazing. Full support from me for budget req. | ||
| We have no libraries in View Royal. Please invest to make nearby library branches more accessible by bike, eg JDF library is very bike unfriendly (no separated bike lanes to get there, no security camera overlooking bike lockup, etc) | ||
| I use GVPL online and also attend the Juan de Fuca branch equal amounts I would say. I wish the survey could let me tell you that. (I frequently place a hold on a book that I find online, then go pick it up when I get notified that it is there for me. Great service!) | ||
| no need for these services any longer. | ||
| Libraries provide equity of access and valuable programming for many demographics and are an important part of vibrant, connected, and inclusive communities. The JDF branch is a valuable resource, and its location adjacent to the rec center could be the foundation of an even more vibrant community hub. | ||
| Clearly you are wealthy enough to not need the services it offers. Congratulations on your privilege. | 1 | |
| Hahahaha have you been to the library? Where they have publically accessible computers, and open wifi if you have your own device? Clearly you have zero knowledge of the library these days... I suggest you go visit it! | 1 | |
| I primarily access library services online, but absolutely love the physical locations and expect that how often I use them will vary significantly throughout my life. I’d be in favour of building an additional branch. |
Other (12)
| Content | Reply Count | Like Count |
|---|---|---|
| We really need better transportation options other than investing for the car. Invest in pedestrians/mixed-use neighbourhoods; cycling and rolling, and transit facilities. | ||
| Lets have great parks, trails and waterfronts. The improvements over last 7 years are good, we need to keep investing. | ||
| We can play a role in housing not primarily through funding (which is important), but by allowing the construction of diverse housing choices. It need not cost money, and can leverage amenity charges to benefit the community. | 1 | |
| The survey only allows for minimal increases to the things we need to make this a great community (walking, cycling and bus infrastructure; parks and rec). We can do more, considering our taxes are among the lowest in the region. Let's not leave this to future tax payers. | 1 | |
| We need to define Amenity Cost Charges (ACCs) so we can ensure new development is providing community improvements, and update DCCs to reflect transportation needs (e.g. recent Active Transportation Plan). I'm worried this Council is using staff time tilting at windmills (trying to challenge the provincial regulations that require all municip0alities to do their fair share) rather than ensuring that our policies are effective (ensuring we have the right zoning and design guidelines to protect trees, creating an ACC bylaw). | 5 | |
| Support the all the comment above. On many aspects but spending time debating prov direction is not constructive use of time and staff resources. | 2 | |
| This may already occur, but events should be identifying if they are receiving funds from the crd. This might be the last question so with community grants, please consider if they are prov resp. as that is who should be funding. | 1 | |
| Focus on basic municipal services and less on broader policy that is primarily the domain of more senior levels of government. In the short term, focus on the bylaw updates we need to be compliant with provincial legislation while protecting important amenities like the urban tree canopy, and keeping neighborhood streets safe for pedestrians | 5 | |
| You can’t just keep raising property taxes way more than inflation. Inflation now supposedly at 3.1%. That is a reasonable increase. Not double digits. | 3 | |
| If Council got back to their grass roots responsibilities, our tax burden would be diminished. Ideological and manufactured crises need to take a back seat to, concrete, realistic operation and administration of municipal demands. | 2 | |
| There is a time for investing in extras but sadly this is not that time. We need to wait until inflation is under control and our tax payers have more disposable income. Too many people are struggling financially and our town needs to recognize that. It would be nice to see some relief and not an increase in it. Please wait until things are better before expanding anything. | 1 | |
| Stick to the bare necessities, like we all are doing during this period of high inflation. I'm not buying fancy electric toys or even a heat pump, and not focusing on performances or even buying flowers... I'm maintaining the bare bones of the current structure because even just the food on the table and keeping the lights on costs extra, and anything I have left in my pocket is squirreled away in case of an emergency. Nothing more. | ||
| I've tightened my belt and that's what the town needs to do to. If I am still squeaking by keeping a roof over my head and food on the table, both hit by inflation, how does the town think it has any right to increase their cost of business (property taxes) by MORE than inflation?!? Do the same with less, just like your citizens have to!! | ||
| More thought has to be given and considered to reducing the cost of government. There is only ONE taxpayer. Giving $30,000 to a search for a doctor, that anyone in the capital region to use, is wasted funds, for example. Thats a CRD responsibility. Looks like virtue signalling at our cost. |
Final Comments (9)
| Content | Reply Count | Like Count |
|---|---|---|
| Budget is painfully silent on cost of staff salaries/benefits and staffing levels. Why are these crucial items not laid out openly and made transparent???? | 1 | |
| Please put more emphasis on character building schemes. These same style buildings that are emerging are boring and look horrible. Please ensure greenspace and trees are a massive priority. We want to be surrounded by nature - not have it stripped. | ||
| This Council is doing an excellent job. Thank you! | ||
| More staff required to carry out ambitious plans for a growing community please. | ||
| We need the option to propose more evolutionary change - investments in parks, trails, sustainable transportation. | 1 | |
| Boulevards are a great asset in View Royal. They provide a huge amount of green space. Let's preserve them as such! | 1 | |
| View Royal is a noisy place to live for a lot of residents and is only getting worse. It has a highway running right through it, and many of its roads are used as short cuts, by other municipalities commuters. It would be wonderful for more attention to be paid to these problems. They impacts a large number of View Royal Citizens, and their ability to enjoy the properties that they pay taxes on. | 1 | |
| Agree, I wondered about the absence of this data as well. | 1 | |
| I would like more concrete information to be provided in the survey. Answers can only be based on personal experience and ideology otherwise. |
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