Council is very proud of our fiscal responsibility in putting together our budget this year.
Not only did we achieve a budget without a tax increase for a majority of taxpayers, we did this while at the same time adding significant items to the budget. It's true we have about $600,000 in new tax revenue this year, but close to half of that ($265,000) simply pays for the inflation factor of 1.6% on a $16.6-million operating budget. This number is based on the Bank of Canada inflation rate. Another $130,000 is used up by full-year salary requirements for people hired in the middle of 2004, such as the Deputy Administrator and our third planner.
Council, as it has for the past two years, made a concerted effort to financially support groups and organizations who can use the District's money and leverage it into more dollars, either actual contributions of money or volunteer labour. Public safety is another area that council believes in supporting with tax dollars.
This year, Council allocated $229,000 to put the Skateboard Working Group over the top and allow that facility to be built. This volunteer group has been working hard for several years to raise money, design the skateboard park and to enlist donations of materials. The project was reaching a critical point, and needed to be pushed forward. It is the wish of Council (and the skateboarders) that this park be open for use by the end of the school year.
Squamish Emergency Program is a perfect example of a group of volunteers who keep giving to the community. Our budget allocation of $193,000 allows a proper vehicle and equipment storage facility to be constructed. This building will protect critical assets and will improve response times when emergencies happen.
Another public safety item supported in the budget by Council is computer-aided dispatch software for the Fire Department. This item costs $120,000, but the benefits of this purchase will be seen by the Fire Department and the community for many years into the future.
This continues the support this Council has given our department over the past three years. We appreciate the work this full-time and volunteer department does for the community, and we have shown that appreciation in the budget.
Another important budget item this year is the sidewalk work that connects Plateau Drive to Valleycliffe Elementary School. Parents have been requesting this project, and Council made it a priority this year. The project necessitates work on the infrastructure piping at the same time, and therefore brings a price of $265,000.
The Cheakamus Bridge repair has been talked about for many years, and with the determination of Coun. Raj Kahlon, we have found $100,000 to make some significant improvements to this structure. This is a bridge that we inherited from the province in bad shape, and one that clearly needs the work. Coun. Kahlon gets full marks from Council for making sure this was included.
There are 17 other budget items I would like to draw your attention to. They range over a good portion of the community, and all have the common thread of being money that can be leveraged for higher community return:
$52,500 Smoke Bluffs Park development study, parking lot and trail access improvement
$100,000 community signs to identify neighborhoods
$50,000 windsport turnaround at the end of the dyke
$17,000 Squamish Arts Council
$32,000 Squamish Trails Society
$15,000 Art Now
$60,000 Squamish Yacht Club
$15,000 Squamish Off Road Cycling Assoc.
$25,000 North Vancouver Safe House
$9,000 Squamish Air Cadets
$6,000 Squamish Environmental Conservation Society
$20,000 Howe Sound Women's Centre Society
$3,700 Squamish Women's Safety Network
$2,000 Royal Cup (2005) National Women's Amateur Championship
$10,000 Valleycliffe PAC / playground replacement
$1,000 Squamish River Watershed Society
$500 Howe Sound Secondary (RCMP academy funding).
This Council, especially the five of use who share a common vision, have been labeled as financially irresponsible by others who disagree with our goals. I would argue that back-to-back years without a tax increase, plus programs such as those I have discussed, show that we are a group of people who spend money wisely to move the community forward.
