TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION REPORT - FINANCIAL PLAN REVIEW – PROTECTIVE SERVICES

FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION REPORT

TO: Committee of the Whole DATE: September 5, 2023 FROM: D. Christenson, Director of Finance MEETING DATE: September 12, 2023

FINANCIAL PLAN REVIEW – PROTECTIVE SERVICES

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the report titled “Financial Plan Review – Protective Services” by the Director of Finance be received for information.

PURPOSE:

To provide information about Protective Services as a part of the financial planning cycle in advance of the 2024-2028 Financial Plan development.

TIME CRITICAL:

On June 20, 2023, Council approved the proposed 2024-2028 Financial Planning Calendar (attached) that lists the activities and opportunities for public engagement that will culminate in the adoption of the five-year financial plan for those years. The schedule includes a systematic review of each functional division’s financial plans early in the process to build the groundwork for subsequent activities. Accordingly, this report provides a review of Protective Services financial plans.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Protective Services encompasses a wide range of administrative activities that support public safety and reduce risk to View Royal and its citizens and visitors. The 10 full-time and 2 part-time staff provide fire protection, training and education, emergency planning, building inspection, bylaw, and other protective services. View Royal also relies on the support of 55+ volunteers for fire response and emergency support services. Police services are provided under contract with the RCMP located at the shared municipal West Shore detachment.

While most (2023 – 77%) of the services provided by the Protective Services division are funded through property taxes, View Royal receives revenue through fire protection and emergency planning service agreements with First Nation and municipal neighbours, permit, licence and other fees, fines, building rental, and the provincial Traffic Fine Revenue Sharing grant. Revenue attributed to Protective Services comprises 4% of total 2023 View Royal operational revenue.

Protective Services expense comprises 30% of View Royal’s total operating expense on average, with almost half (49%) allocated to policing and 38% to fire services. On average, labour costs, including those related to RCMP support staff, account for 43% of Protective Services operating expense. The costs of goods and services represent 54%, including significant contracted services such as for RCMP, fire dispatch and CREST.

The Protective Services component of View Royal’s budget is generally financially sustainable, since most recurring expenses are funded by recurring or predictable revenue.

BACKGROUND:

The five-year financial plan includes estimates of revenue and expense to maintain View Royal services, categorized by functional division. This report provides a historical look at the financial results of Protective services in the context of the overall budget and highlights significant components.

DISCUSSION:

Services

Protective Services provides fire protection, policing, emergency planning and response, bylaw enforcement, building inspections, and animal control services to View Royal’s citizens and visitors.

The services provided by the Protective Services division include:

• Fire suppression
• Fire inspections
• Emergency and non-emergency response
• Fire protection services to Esquimalt and Songhees Nations
• Automatic aid agreements with Colwood and Langford
• Policing and public safety (fulfilled under contract with West Shore RCMP and Langford)
• Emergency planning and response, disaster planning, business continuity
• Emergency radio communications
• Emergency social services
• Bylaw enforcement, working with RCMP and other View Royal departments
• Building inspections
• Animal control (fulfilled under contract with the Capital Regional District)

Operating revenue and expense

Schedule A Operating Revenue (attached) details the budgeted and actual revenue for 2019-2023 (year-to-date). Primarily, revenue comprises building permit fees (38%) and fire protection services (35%) under cost-sharing agreements with the Town’s First Nations neighbors. Revenue attributed to policing services (17%) includes a share of the West Shore detachment facility rent for provincial police personnel and the annual provincial Traffic Fine Revenue Sharing grant. In total, revenue directly attributable to Protective Services averages 5% of total operating revenue.

Schedule B Operating Expense (attached) details the budgeted and actual expense for 2019-2023 (year-to date) and shows that Protective Services comprise about 30% of total municipal operating costs on average. Of total Protective Services expense, policing costs represent nearly half (49%), and fire services 38%. It is important to understand that centralized support services costs, such as general administration, finance, information technology, human resources, and communication, are not generally allocated to Protective Services.

The Protective Services budget includes labour costs for 10 full-time and 1.0 FTE (full-time equivalent) part-time personnel in addition to RCMP support staff cost-shared personnel. Protective Services comprises about 29% of View Royal’s total personnel. Protective Services also depend on about 25 trained fire service and 30 emergency program volunteers.

The greater portion (54%) of Protective Services budget is allocated to contracts for goods and services such as those for policing (RCMP), fire dispatch, and emergency service telecommunications (CREST). This component also includes costs to maintain the Public Safety building, fire apparatus, and other service vehicles. In-house labour costs, primarily fire services personnel, comprise 43% of the total budget, on average. As previously noted, indirect costs, such as those for general administration, finance, and information technology, are not allocated to this budget, but instead, are described in the General Administration budget.

SUSTAINABILITY/CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS:

The proportion of annual or frequently recurring expense that is funded from annually recurring or predictable revenue sources, such as taxation or user fees, is a measure of financial sustainability. Protective Services is primarily funded from taxation revenue, except for building inspection services, which is funded from building permit fees. To the extent that these items remain relatively immaterial to the total budget or are avoidable or optional, financial sustainability is not significantly impacted.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:

There are no significant financial implications associated with the proposed recommendation.

ALTERNATIVES:

None.

CONCLUSION:

The Protective Services division delivers public safety services to View Royal’s citizens and visitors with fire protection, policing, emergency planning, building inspection and bylaw services through in-house staff and contracted services. This division represents about 30% of the total operating budget, funded primarily by taxation.

ATTACHMENTS:

1. 2024-2028 Financial Planning Calendar
2. Schedule A Operating Revenue
3. Schedule B Operating Expense