Whistler’s annual budget open house set for Nov. 18

Whistlerites will get their first look at the proposed 2022 municipal budget at a community information session at the Maury Young Arts Centre on Thursday, Nov. 18.

The info session will be livestreamed to the municipal website and Facebook for those who can’t attend in person.

“Staff and council are currently working to finalize the 2022 budget. We are looking forward to engaging with the community and hearing the feedback on our priorities for 2022,” said Mayor Jack Crompton at the Nov. 2 council meeting.

While any potential tax increases won’t be revealed until Nov. 18, it’s possible Whistlerites will see larger increases than in recent years after council reversed course on a proposed 4.89-per-cent tax increase in 2021, opting instead for an increase of 1.08 per cent.

The lower increases in 2021 came about due to the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on local residents, but required a draw on reserves.

The Resort Municipality of Whistler’s (RMOW) general reserves funded by taxes have been flat for six years, explained director of finance Carlee Price in introducing the lower increases at the Dec. 15, 2020 council meeting, while the value of community assets—all of which will eventually need to be replaced—has continued to grow.

“So we’re losing some of our ability to properly appropriately care for these assets,” Price said.

“That can feel less urgent for the individual than facing a $50 tax increase in any given year, but we can’t lose sight of it. Our fiscal responsibilities as a community always relate to existing economic realities; in this year those realities are overwhelmingly influenced by COVID.”

The pandemic is still presenting plenty of uncertainty for Whistler’s decision makers, Price said in a financial update to council in early October.

“[The deliberation process has] been thorough, and we’re looking forward to hearing what the public has to say about what’s presented,” Crompton said after the Nov. 2 meeting.

As for what to expect in terms of tax increases?

“I think we’ll see proposed budgets, which will have a proposed tax increase, and that will be out there for the consideration of the public,” he added.

Budget documents will be posted to whistler.ca/budget ahead of the information session.