Two years ago, at Whistler’s annual budget open house, Mayor Jack Crompton described the resort as being “middle-aged,” and in need of some knee replacements.
How would he characterize the draft 2022 budget?
“Yeah, I think it’s time to add a couple of hip replacements to those knee replacements that we talked about,” Crompton said.
The draft budget, unveiled at a public information session on Nov. 18, includes a proposed 6.72-per-cent tax increase in 2022, as well as three-per-cent increases to sewer, water and solid waste fees.
News of the increase—well above the 10-year average increase of about 1.71 per cent—has generated mixed reactions so far, the mayor said.
“I’m hearing people say this is too big an increase, we need to restrain our expectations, and I’m hearing people say this makes sense, we need to invest in climate action—and obviously variations of both,” he said.
“For me, this is a budget about climate, COVID and a challenging labour market. But I want to hear what this budget is about for the community, and I look forward to that input over the next four weeks.”
Given there is a municipal election slated for October 2022, was there any concern at the council table about how the electorate might respond to the proposed tax increase?
“My experience of this council is that we try and make the best decision with the information we have. Obviously politics comes into it, but our goal is to make good decisions,” Crompton said, adding that the higher tax increase is necessary to rebuild reserves after the municipality used them to “bridge the gap” through COVID-19.
“We’re looking to build a budget that gets the work of the municipality done efficiently and without the kinds of delays that we are seeing in some areas, and we have to continue to plan for a resilient future,” he said, noting Whistler’s tax increases over the last 11 years have been among the lowest in the Fraser Valley, Lower Mainland and Sea to Sky regions.
“Were we to continue with that for another 10 or 11 years, our ability to reinvest in the municipality would be damaged,” he said. “Whatever number the budget ends up with, this council is interested in making sure we are not leaving future councils without the resources they need to maintain the community we all enjoy.
“We don’t want to leave infrastructure and assets in a worse place than we found them.”
Whistlerites have until 4 p.m. on Dec. 21 to weigh in on the proposed 2022 budget.
The RMOW is using new online platforms to allow residents to review content, ask questions and receive answers, as well as share their ideas and feedback. Find them, along with related budget documents, at whistler.ca/budget.
ASSET MANAGEMENT PLAN IN THE WORKS
The higher proposed tax increase in 2022 comes after council reversed course on a 4.89-per-cent increase in 2021, opting instead for an increase of 1.08 per cent.
The RMOW under-contributed to its reserves in 2021 to help bridge the gap between operating revenues—severely hampered by COVID-19—and spending in 2021. Starting in 2022, the municipality will not only need to make up the lost contribution, but account for ongoing works and services in the community, said director of finance Carlee Price at the Nov. 18 open house.
“Part of the reason we were able to offer tax relief to ratepayers in 2020 is because we had a healthy operating reserve balance. Rebuilding that operating reserve is critical to funding any unforeseen circumstances that may emerge in the future,” she said.
“Whether that’s fire, whether that’s a flood, whether that’s a pandemic, having that money in the reserves at the time those disasters strike is critical to this community and something that’s worth a good deal of our attention.”
In a follow-up phone call, Price noted levels in some of the RMOW’s critical reserves, like the general capital reserve, have been stagnant since 2015.
“As we know, the installed asset base has changed quite significantly in that time, so at a minimum we need to ensure that the reserve levels are tracking the direction and the scope of the change in the installed asset base,” Price said.
As far as nailing down a specific dollar amount or reserve level that would make the municipality comfortable, more research is needed, she added.
To that end, an asset management plan is in the works at municipal hall, and “we are hard at work on that as we speak,” Price said.
“We know directionally we need more, we know roughly the scale, but getting specific numbers requires a level of detail on our installed inventory that we don’t yet have.”
In terms of the bottom line for taxpayers, as in every year, the tax increase will impact households differently.
In an example provided by the RMOW, a property assessed at $1.5 million could expect to see an increase in property taxes of $155 next year, while one assessed at $4 million might see an increase of $415.
The average expected increase in assessed value for residential properties in Whistler is currently estimated at 30 per cent, so “any property in this community that appreciates by less than 30 per cent for the 2022 tax year will see a significantly lower increase in their property tax bill than the announced rate,” Price said at the Nov. 18 open house.
Those in Whistler Housing Authority properties will likely see no change or a decrease, due to the assessed value of other properties in Whistler seeing a higher increase, according to the RMOW.
The change to sewer, water and solid waste fees will amount to about a $36.15 increase for all properties.
PROPOSED PROJECTS PLACE FOCUS ON INFRASTRUCTURE
The total proposed project spend in 2022 is $45.7 million—down from $54.9 million in the 2021 budget (though that figure was inflated by a $10-million investment in employee housing in Cheakamus Crossing).
The proposed spend covers 144 projects in 2022, the bulk of which is directed at infrastructure services ($24.3 million) and resort experience ($9.7 million).
Key areas of focus for 2022 include (but are not limited to): tourism recovery, affordable housing, reducing permit wait times, rebuilding transit ridership, water quality and delivery, waste reduction and wildfire protection.
All of the RMOW’s budget work is also “underlined” by implementation of the Climate Action Big Moves Strategy, said chief administrative officer Virginia Cullen.
“On all of our projects there are climate considerations,” she said. “It is considered with everything that we are doing.”
In terms of front-facing projects, or things the community might notice in 2022, Cullen pointed to improvements to Rainbow Park and Meadow Park ($1 million and $1.05 million, respectively, both paid for by the provincial Resort Municipality Initiative program).
The improvements at Meadow Park include replacing the waterpark, new playground equipment, enhanced picnic areas and recreational space along the river’s edge, as well as a formalized off-leash dog area, while Rainbow Park will see improved waterfront access, watercraft launch and storage facilities, expansion of the special events area and more.
The public safety building, home to Whistler’s fire and police services, is also due for a new roof (at a two-year spend of about $4 million); utilities will be buried in White Gold and Alta Vista (about $9 million over two years); and building envelope repairs will be conducted at the Meadow Park Sports Centre ($4 million over three years).
Water and sewer projects are also once again being given a strong focus, with $5.4 million and $8.9 million budgeted, respectively, across a wide range of projects in 2022 (and much more in the years to come).
Following the completion of the Alta Lake Sewer Project this year, The Point Artist-Run Centre and the washrooms at Rainbow Park will be added to the municipal sewer system in 2022, ”and those ones I’m actually quite excited about,” Cullen said, “because it will be great to have all of it connected.”
Find the full list of projects at whistler.ca/budget.
FROM REACTION TO RESILIENCY
It hasn’t been an easy couple of years in Whistler by any stretch of the imagination. Between the COVID-19 pandemic and a devastating ransomware attack in April 2021, the RMOW has been constantly forced to react to extenuating circumstances as they arise.
“I think our goal over time is to [become] a more resilient community and organization so that we can respond appropriately to crises,” Cullen said.
“We know that there’s going to be continuing challenges with climate change, that we’re going to need to adapt to along the way, and so this just stresses the need to be fiscally prudent but planning appropriately for what the future may hold.”
The RMOW’s Strategic Planning Committee continues to work on a “balance model” that will support future decision making (with $82,146 budgeted for the work in 2022), as well as scenario planning through the Whistler Sessions project announced in October ($96,218 for facilitation and facility rentals, paid for from a 2021 COVID-19 contingency fund. Additional facility rental costs are expected in 2022).
As it relates to climate change, the RMOW will continue to spend on its Community Wildfire Protection plan ($1 million in 2022, and about $1.6 million in each of 2023 to 2026), while recent extreme flooding events throughout B.C. have also not gone unnoticed in Whistler.
“[Flooding] is something we’ve always been alive to, and we’ll continue to be looking at—as climate changes, the model for what kind of rain we can expect really needs to be looked at,” Cullen said.
Though Whistler avoided the devastation seen in other parts of the province, RMOW roads crews monitored locations where storm water collection systems were reaching capacity during periods of heavy rain, while also responding to residents reporting issues.
Afterwards, they removed “woody debris” and repaired storm damage where necessary, including shoulder gravel that was washed away.
With more rain in the forecast this week, “staff continue to work on the storm water control system to make improvements to direct storm runoff where it needs to go,” a spokesperson said.
Pique will have more on the 2022 budget in the coming weeks.
