With the provincial election fading in the rearview and opening day at Whistler Blackcomb still three weeks away, Whistlerites can be forgiven if they’re feeling somewhat directionless.
Just what is a local in a tourist town supposed to do with themselves on these dreary, in-between days?
Well, you could get a new hobby (we hear The Point is offering sewing classes), or find somewhere to volunteer, but if you’d rather fill your time with something more cynical, there’s always the municipal budget!
Luckily, the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) is wasting no time getting deep into the weeds on Whistler’s 2025 finances, with a robust presentation to the committee of the whole held Oct. 22.
You can read more about it in this week’s lead story, but in the shortest possible terms, the current outlook is this: as Whistler’s population climbs, so too do expenses—so taxes must follow suit.
At this early stage of the budgeting process, officials are considering a general property tax increase of between 9 and 10 per cent for 2025, along with increases to parcel tax and user fees of between 4 and 8 per cent.
According to the RMOW’s presentation, that could mean anywhere from an additional $70 on your tax bill (if you own a Whistler Housing Authority unit valued at about $500,000) all the way up to an additional $520 (for those of you living in $4-million single-family homes).
The proposed increase to utility and service fees would amount to about $80 more for a typical user, according to officials.
“But wait a minute,” we hear you say. “That’s MORE money. Can’t the RMOW take LESS of my money instead?”
An astute observation, and a relevant question for all. Sadly, the short answer, given current circumstances and cost pressures, is “probably not.”
That’s because, according to local officials, Whistler’s municipal finances are being guided by some large (and growing) factors: helpfully explained by CAO Ginny Cullen by way of visual metaphor.
Imagine the RMOW’s budget is a big, empty jar, and its annual expenses consist of all the rocks you will use to fill it.
“In the budget there are three main ‘big rocks,’ and they’re called big rocks because you need to fit them in the jar first before anything else will fit in and around them,” Cullen told the committee of the whole.
In Whistler’s case, the three “big rocks” are: policing, fire, and transit.
“Each of these helps us catch up to the size and shape of our community and puts public safety and climate goals at the top of the priority list,” Cullen said, noting staff is expecting significant increases in all three areas.
With that in mind, the focus in this year’s budget is constraining growth in other areas.
“We need to keep service levels the same, so we have added no extra programs, no extra hours, no extra staff,” Cullen said.
“We’ve been focusing on saving, shifting or redeploying, not expanding wherever possible, keeping our non-payroll operating costs level with 2024, and that is despite inflation.”
Then there is the small matter of keeping up with infrastructure maintenance—an area Whistler is perhaps held to a higher standard than other communities.
“[O]ur community is maturing, and this means investment in existing infrastructure needs to match required maintenance schedules. We need to stay fit, so we don’t end up with unplanned maintenance that is disruptive and costs more to fix,” Cullen said, pointing to the failure of some municipal infrastructure on the north shore during recent high-water events by way of example.
“We’re not immune to that, so we need to ensure that we’re always staying on top of what we feel is needed to be able to manage unplanned events such as that one.”
Whistler benefits in many ways by being a resort community, with assets for both residents and visitors, but “it also means there is a greater responsibility to care for infrastructure,” Cullen noted. “Our municipality supports a world-class tourism destination, that in turn benefits the rest of the province of B.C., so a resort municipality essentially comes with a higher workload if you compare us to another similar sized but not a resort community.”
So rather than let the dead-season doldrums drag you down, why not head on over to engage.whistler.ca/budget-2025 and have a read of all the great budget literature for yourself?
Then put all your best feedback into a nice email and send it along to the RMOW.
Our local decision-makers would love to hear from you.
