Minutes of a Special Committee of the Whole Budget Meeting - February 26, 2019

MINUTES OF A SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE BUDGET MEETING

HELD ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019

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PRESENT WERE: Mayor Screech Councillor Kowalewich Councillor Lemon Councillor Mattson Councillor Rogers

PRESENT ALSO: K. Anema, Chief Administrative Officer S. Jones, Director of Corporate Administration D. Christenson, Director of Finance P. Hurst, Director of Protective Services J. Rosenberg, Director of Engineering L. Chase, Director of Development Services S. Vella, Manager of Accounting E. Bolster, Deputy Corporate Officer 0 members of the public 0 members of the press

1. CALL TO ORDER

Mayor Screech called the meeting to order at 5:56 p.m.

2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA

MOVED BY: Councillor Rogers SECONDED: Councillor Mattson

THAT the agenda be approved as presented.

CARRIED

3. REPORTS

a) 2019-2023 Five Year Financial Plan Deliberations

1. Summary from February 21, 2019 meeting

The Committee and the Director of Finance discussed resubmission of the City of Langford’s protective services – police expenditures information; amendment to Fortis BC’s operating fee which is $9,000 less than originally budgeted; fire service vehicle replacement which was scheduled for 2021 is now moved to 2022 for $700,000; and the 2014-2017 reserve contribution history.

2. Service Plans

The Director of Finance noted the changes to the following service plan budgets:

• General Government – $54,088;
• Protective Services – $156,636;
• Development Services – ($3,802);
• Transportation – $33,558;
• Parks – $18,799; and
• Recreation and Culture – $13,731

for a total change of $283,756.

The Committee discussed the 2019 service plan budgets and supported those listed in the draft budget (Appendix 4) with the following exceptions, notations and amendments:

• Admin - Contingency – fund the required $50,000 from prior year surplus instead of taxation;
• Development Services – Housing Strategy and Needs & Gap Analysis – reduce funding from $80,000 to $40,000 and reduce scope to Needs & Gap Analysis only;
• Bridges – Repairs and Maintenance – remove $100,000 project for 2019 as Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure responsible for this work; and
• Fire Service Vehicle Replacement – move $700,000 from 2021 to 2022.

The Director of Corporate Services stated that the website refresh project would be removed from the service plan as it was not supported at the February 20, 2019 budget meeting. She also noted that the public relations account will fund one event – the jointly hosted Canada Day celebration.

The Committee and the Director of Development Services discussed the possibility of collaborating with the Capital Regional District (CRD) or neighbouring municipalities to complete a housing needs and gap analysis. The Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) stated that the CRD has high level numbers that can be viewed as a starting point, but their information is not specific enough in identifying the needs of each municipality to fulfill the new Provincial requirement. The importance of a Housing Strategy in promoting affordability was noted.

The Committee and staff discussed sale of fire protection services and Fire Commissioner’s funds received for 2018 wildfire response.

The CAO remined Committee members of the RCMP meeting set for February 28, 2019 regarding staffing levels.

The Director of Engineering described the level of service prescribed in the road maintenance contract; Parson’s Bridge maintenance; Parks Department overtime incurred for special events and invasive species removal events; and snow and ice control operations.

The CAO indicated that any proposed cuts to operating budgets would entail loss of a full service and that the preliminary community satisfaction and engagement survey results indicate that residents are happy and are not expressing dissatisfaction with property taxes.

3. Reserve Funds

The Committee and staff discussed the 2014-2017 reserve contribution history and transfers to/from reserves and surpluses.

The Committee requested that staff prepare the budget based on funding the proposed contribution of $260,959 to the Future Operating Expenditures Reserve from the Casino revenue account instead of taxation – which brings the proposed tax increase to 3.83%. The Committee further requested that tax funded contributions to reserves be reduced to achieve a 3.5% overall tax increase.

The Committee discussed that the mailer should reference the new Provincial Employer Health Tax. It was also noted that grants-in-aid, tax rates, and examples of the tax rate impact on individual properties are yet to be considered.

4. TERMINATION

MOVED BY: Councillor Lemon SECONDED: Councillor Mattson

THAT this meeting terminate. Time: 8:34 p.m.

CARRIED

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