[0:21] That was

[0:23] I'll keep it.

[0:59] 8:00.

[1:00] So, I to order this special council

[1:03] meeting of Thursday, May 17th.

[1:07] And we will start with the adoption of

[1:09] our agenda. I don't know if there's

[1:11] don't think there's any

[1:12] changes from the agenda.

[1:14] Nope, not seeing anything from staff.

[1:16] Councillor Wyatt.

[1:16] >> I'll move the agenda.

[1:19] » I'll move the agenda.

[1:19] >> Seconded by Councillor Southcott. Not

[1:21] » Seconded by Councillor Southcott. Not

[1:21] seeing any discussion, all in favor?

[1:24] That is unanimous.

[1:27] And I can get someone to do number three

[1:29] minutes.

[1:32] >> I move

[1:33] » I move

[1:33] I move that council move into a closed

[1:36] meeting to discuss matters covered by

[1:37] the community charter under Section 90

[1:40] 1A, personal information about an

[1:42] identifiable individual who holds or is

[1:44] being considered for a position as an

[1:46] officer, employee, or agent of the

[1:48] municipality or another position

[1:50] appointed by the municipality.

[1:53] Um

[1:54] Is that I or L?

[1:59] L.

[2:00] Discussions with municipal officers and

[2:03] employees respecting municipal

[2:04] objectives, measures, and progress

[2:06] reports for the purposes of preparing an

[2:09] annual report under section 98, annual

[2:11] municipal report.

[2:14] >> Moved by Councillor Southcott.

[2:16] » Moved by Councillor Southcott.

[2:16] All in favor.

[2:17] That is unanimous. We

[2:20] reconvene at 3:30 for the rest of the

[2:22] open agenda.

[5:49] » Mhm.

[30:49] » Good to go, Carson?

[30:51] Yep.

[30:52] All right, we will resume our special

[30:55] council meeting for Monday, sorry

[30:58] Monday, Thursday May the 14th.

[31:01] Uh the mayor is away with leave today.

[31:03] Councillor Isaacson is tuning in

[31:05] remotely. I'd like to acknowledge that

[31:07] we're holding these meetings on the

[31:08] traditional territory of the Tla'amin

[31:10] people.

[31:11] Who have stewarded this land for

[31:12] thousands of years.

[31:14] And we already had our agenda cleared

[31:16] up, so that moves us to our public input

[31:19] period.

[31:20] Um there's nobody in the gallery. Mr.

[31:22] Sercia, do we have anyone online for

[31:24] public input?

[31:26] All right, wonderful.

[31:27] That moves us to 7.1, the draft 2025

[31:31] financial statements and related

[31:32] results. We'll turn it over to the

[31:35] uh interim chief financial officer, Mr.

[31:37] Beauregard.

[31:39] >> Thank you, uh Acting Mayor. Um

[31:42] » Thank you, uh Acting Mayor. Um

[31:42] in terms of sequence, uh

[31:45] our auditor, Brian Zabor, is going to

[31:47] present us audit finding report first.

[31:50] And then, [snorts] um

[31:52] Ryan will give a brief uh PowerPoint

[31:54] presentation on the statements and the

[31:56] highlights of those statements.

[31:59] And then, we'll ask uh

[32:01] entertain questions and then ask council

[32:03] to consider the motion to approve the

[32:05] draft financial statements. So, I'll

[32:07] turn things over to Brian first.

[32:10] >> Uh thank you very much. I appreciate the

[32:12] » Uh thank you very much. I appreciate the

[32:12] opportunity to be here,

[32:15] kind of here, with you today, uh

[32:17] presenting the financial or the audit

[32:19] report on the financial statements.

[32:22] Um so, if you are following along in in

[32:25] your package, uh and if there's a

[32:27] presentation up on the uh the board,

[32:29] it's uh I'm starting on page four of our

[32:31] report.

[32:33] And uh on page four, it's uh starts with

[32:36] uh at a glance and it describes

[32:39] uh the materiality levels that were

[32:41] applied uh to the city's audit.

[32:44] Um the overall materiality level that's

[32:46] applied to capital activities remained

[32:49] at 4.3 million. The uh consolidated

[32:52] materiality with respect to operating

[32:54] activities remained at 1.3 million. And

[32:58] then the specific component materiality

[33:00] that applies to the individual entities

[33:03] um the city as an individual entity, the

[33:06] Powell River Forest Limited, and the

[33:08] Powell River Public Library was 1.251

[33:11] million. Now, those specific materiality

[33:14] levels that were applied to those audits

[33:17] specifically may and well and and may

[33:19] well have been and in fact for the

[33:21] library was definitely lower than that,

[33:23] but we set that as kind of the highest

[33:25] um amount that can be set for

[33:28] materiality level at the component

[33:30] level.

[33:32] Um for on page five, we provide a

[33:35] snapshot of the status of the audit. Uh

[33:37] the audit was uh complete uh the

[33:40] fieldwork was completed a couple of

[33:41] weeks ago. We finished off getting some

[33:43] questions answered and going through

[33:45] some uh some final matters with uh

[33:48] management, but we are complete now and

[33:51] uh subject to approval of the financial

[33:53] statements by council, we will be ready

[33:56] to issue the auditor's report. We have

[33:58] received the signed management

[34:00] representation letter and we did perform

[34:03] our subsequent events questions up to

[34:05] today's date, so we are ready to issue

[34:07] upon council's approval of the financial

[34:09] statements.

[34:12] Uh on page six

[34:14] we describe uh what we call group

[34:16] matters because uh there are two

[34:18] entities that are consolidated into the

[34:21] financial statements being the forestry

[34:23] company

[34:24] and uh the library. We do consider this

[34:26] to be a group audit. Um we do audit the

[34:29] library as well, so that part of it is

[34:31] uh fairly straightforward. But, because

[34:33] there's another firm of auditors that

[34:36] audits the Powell River Community Forest

[34:38] Company,

[34:39] we do have to communicate with them and

[34:41] ensure that their procedures are being

[34:43] undertaken as though we are doing the

[34:45] audit. So, we really oversee their audit

[34:48] work. And we are in communication with

[34:50] them. We do confirm with them that they

[34:52] are adhering to the same standards that

[34:54] we do. And then we do use their audit

[34:56] opinion in in the incorporation of of

[35:00] the results of operations of the

[35:03] forestry company into the cities.

[35:05] And so, based on the above,

[35:08] an unmodified audit opinion was issued

[35:10] by MNP. And we do use that as audit

[35:14] evidence for the cities' financial

[35:16] statements.

[35:20] The next several pages, 7, 8, and 9

[35:24] cover our audit findings. And this

[35:26] should be read in conjunction

[35:28] with

[35:29] the planning report that was presented

[35:32] in January.

[35:34] The first page covers management

[35:36] override of internal controls. We do

[35:39] perform procedures to address that risk

[35:41] and did not note any instances of

[35:44] override of internal controls, including

[35:47] in journal entries,

[35:49] risk of fraudulent revenue recognition.

[35:51] We have rebutted that risk just due to

[35:54] the nature of the revenue streams at the

[35:56] city. However, there is still a

[35:59] complexity to the revenue recognition at

[36:01] the city. So, we do

[36:03] confirm grant funding and we do ensure

[36:06] that any funding received and other

[36:09] transactions that are recorded for

[36:11] revenue are recorded properly in

[36:13] accordance with the standards.

[36:16] Page 8 covers employee future benefits

[36:20] and development cost charges. Again, two

[36:22] areas that that entail some complexity.

[36:25] And so, we do spend a fair amount of

[36:27] time

[36:28] examining these areas and all the

[36:30] procedures that were performed were done

[36:32] so without any issues noted.

[36:36] And then finally on page nine we address

[36:38] the contingent liability with respect to

[36:41] the wastewater treatment plant. This is

[36:43] an item that carries over from the prior

[36:45] year and the litigation is ongoing

[36:48] remains unresolved. At this time there

[36:51] have been no amounts recorded in the

[36:52] financial statements in respect of this

[36:55] item

[36:56] simply because the ability to predict

[36:59] the outcome is not there and any amounts

[37:02] if any that might be payable in respect

[37:05] of this cannot be estimated at this

[37:07] time.

[37:08] And at the time that this becomes more

[37:11] clear in terms of its resolution and the

[37:13] amount payable if any

[37:16] it will be recorded in the financial

[37:17] statements.

[37:21] The next page 10 covers internal control

[37:23] matters. We did not note any

[37:25] deficiencies in internal controls.

[37:28] If we did we would be required to

[37:31] communicate those to you

[37:33] but the fact that we are not

[37:34] communicating any significant

[37:36] deficiencies doesn't mean there are no

[37:38] deficiencies. We do not test all

[37:40] internal controls nor all instances of

[37:43] internal controls.

[37:44] We test the the controls that we deem

[37:47] relevant to the audit so those are the

[37:49] significant controls that management

[37:52] performs that impact our audit work.

[37:56] The next page 11 adjusted and unadjusted

[38:00] differences. There were no adjustments

[38:02] made during the course of the audit as a

[38:04] result of the audit procedures and there

[38:06] are no

[38:08] misstatements that we detected that

[38:10] remain uncorrected in the financial

[38:12] statements.

[38:15] The next two pages 12 and 13 cover a

[38:18] number of matters that if they were to

[38:20] occur or noted by us, we would be

[38:23] required to report them to you. The

[38:25] first three items are responsibilities

[38:27] under auditing standards, our audit

[38:29] strategy and scope, and fraud risk

[38:32] factors applicable to the city were

[38:35] included in our planning report. And uh

[38:37] there were no other matters that were

[38:39] required to be reported to you other

[38:41] than the fact that we do use uh Georgian

[38:44] Bell, the uh firm of actuaries in

[38:47] determining the uh amount of the

[38:50] employee future benefits, and of course

[38:52] our reliance on MNP's report on the

[38:55] forestry company.

[38:57] Um the next page outlines a number of

[38:59] recommended resources for you. The red

[39:02] boxes are all links to our website and

[39:06] uh include a num- a bunch of uh really

[39:08] very interesting information, and the

[39:10] one on the right there is probably

[39:13] something that uh I think uh management

[39:15] and uh council might want to to uh

[39:18] explore is uh the prevention of

[39:20] procurement fraud risks.

[39:22] Um this is something that we we do see

[39:25] now and then on the increase, and and

[39:27] just with uh today's kind of economic

[39:29] environment, um probably warrants

[39:32] another look just to ensure that uh all

[39:34] your controls are in place.

[39:37] Uh the next page covers a a new

[39:40] accounting standard that will be

[39:42] effective for your fiscal 2027 year.

[39:45] Uh it's really a a revision to the

[39:48] presentation of the financial

[39:50] statements, particularly the statement

[39:52] of financial position. Um for those of

[39:54] you who are are used to private company

[39:57] financial statements that usually have a

[39:59] balance sheet rather than the uh city's

[40:02] uh statement of financial position, uh

[40:05] this will be more familiar to you. It is

[40:07] going back more to a a balance sheet

[40:09] format, and uh introduces the concept of

[40:12] financial liabilities as well. So, there

[40:14] will be some changes, and and there will

[40:16] be a fair bit of work

[40:18] involved in in getting to that place and

[40:21] we'll be communicating with management

[40:22] over the course of the next year and a

[40:25] half or so to to ensure that

[40:28] they're on track and and if they have

[40:30] any questions on application we're happy

[40:33] to to help with those.

[40:37] And then finally in the appendices the

[40:39] representation letter I mentioned that

[40:41] we have received this already signed

[40:43] from management. We are required to

[40:45] obtain this in writing a number of

[40:48] matters that we ask about during the

[40:50] course of our audit and just telling us

[40:52] that they've provided us with all the

[40:55] material that we've asked for anything

[40:57] relevant to the financial statements and

[40:59] to the city's operation that they're not

[41:01] aware of any additional fraud risk

[41:04] factors or specific fraud

[41:07] and just a number of other general

[41:09] representations

[41:10] that that we request and there's nothing

[41:14] in in particular in this year's letter

[41:15] that is a standout that would not be

[41:18] included in other years letters or other

[41:21] local government letters so it's all

[41:23] it's all fairly standard.

[41:25] And then finally our independence letter

[41:27] which provides you with confirmation

[41:31] that we are independent from the city

[41:34] there is

[41:35] five criteria there that that we note in

[41:38] terms of what we look to to ensure that

[41:41] we are

[41:42] with the last bullet point really being

[41:43] the the one that's most

[41:46] common in in the public sector

[41:48] the provision of services that are

[41:51] incompatible with with our role as

[41:53] auditors that might put us into a

[41:55] position of auditing our own work or if

[41:57] there's

[41:59] things that we are doing services that

[42:01] we are providing that that might be

[42:04] multiples of our our audit fee and I can

[42:06] assure you that there's no such

[42:09] activities like that. So we do confirm

[42:11] that that we are independent from the

[42:14] city.

[42:15] So, I'm happy to respond to any

[42:17] questions.

[42:20] » Questions, Council?

[42:25] Wow, you have Oh, I thought you were

[42:28] going to set a record, Mr. Zabel.

[42:29] Counselor Dought.

[42:32] >> I don't want to be accused of coming to

[42:34] » I don't want to be accused of coming to

[42:34] a 3-minute meeting, so

[42:37] >> [laughter]

[42:37] » [laughter]

[42:37] >> going to maybe stretch it out a little

[42:39] » going to maybe stretch it out a little

[42:39] bit here. But, I just you know, I got an

[42:41] email this week from a from a taxpayer

[42:44] who was telling me that the city is

[42:46] bankrupt. And since the auditors are

[42:49] here, I thought that might be a good

[42:51] question to ask the auditors. Do you

[42:53] think we're the city's anywhere close to

[42:55] being bankrupt?

[42:58] >> Well, I I think that's probably a

[43:00] » Well, I I think that's probably a

[43:00] question that should be answered during

[43:02] the presentation of the financial

[43:04] statements. I'm not I'm not sure what

[43:06] you know, bankrupt can mean a lot of

[43:08] different things. Um I don't certainly

[43:11] don't see the city as as being

[43:14] bankrupt,

[43:15] but I think what you'll you'll find is

[43:17] when the financial statements are

[43:19] presented that the city has adequate

[43:22] resources to continue operations.

[43:26] >> Thank you. I thought that was what you

[43:28] » Thank you. I thought that was what you

[43:28] would say.

[43:31] » Thank you, Counselor Dought. Anyone

[43:32] else?

[43:34] Seeing none, thank you, Mr. Zabel for

[43:36] your presentation.

[43:38] >> Thank you. I will just I'll hang on the

[43:40] » Thank you. I will just I'll hang on the

[43:40] meeting until Council has an opportunity

[43:43] to approve the statements.

[43:45] >> Sounds good.

[43:46] » Sounds good.

[43:46] >> Thank you.

[43:46] » Thank you.

[43:46] >> Um Mr. Youngman, I believe you're next.

[43:51] » Thank you.

[43:53] I always have to adjust this microphone

[43:54] here.

[43:56] So, the purpose of this report is to

[43:58] summarize the city's financial results

[44:00] and to present the draft 2025 financial

[44:03] statements for Council's approval, which

[44:05] is required for the auditors to sign off

[44:07] on the audit.

[44:09] >> [clears throat]

[44:10] » [clears throat]

[44:10] >> So, the report goes into quite a bit of

[44:11] » So, the report goes into quite a bit of

[44:11] detail, so I'm just going to focus on

[44:12] the key points, but if there's any

[44:14] questions on the presentation, the

[44:16] report, or any part of the financial

[44:17] statements, I'll be happy to answer them

[44:18] at the end of the presentation.

[44:21] So, starting with some background

[44:22] information, the financial statements

[44:24] and the audit are being big undertaking

[44:26] by staff, um

[44:27] but uh ultimately the financial

[44:29] statements are prepared by management in

[44:30] accordance with public sector accounting

[44:32] standards.

[44:33] As we've heard from the city's external

[44:35] auditor, BDO, the auditors have

[44:37] substantially completed their audit and

[44:39] have scrutinized the city's accounts,

[44:41] processes, and financial statements and

[44:43] have a draft clean audit opinion, which

[44:45] is called an unmodified opinion, so

[44:47] we're pleased about that.

[44:50] >> [clears throat and cough]

[44:51] » [clears throat and cough]

[44:51] >> So, the first statement that I'd like to

[44:53] » So, the first statement that I'd like to

[44:53] bring to your attention is the

[44:54] consolidated statement of financial

[44:55] position, which provides a snapshot of

[44:58] the city's finances at a point in time.

[45:01] So, we're looking at December 31st of

[45:03] 2025 compared to the previous year.

[45:06] So, the first line item I'd like to

[45:08] bring to your attention is cash and cash

[45:10] equivalents, which increased by 5.2

[45:12] million to 69.1 million, primarily due

[45:15] to the 2024 dividend from the Powell

[45:17] River Community Forest of 3.7 million

[45:19] that was deposited during the year.

[45:22] Dividends receivable from the Powell

[45:23] River Community Forest fluctuate

[45:25] depending on the activity in the

[45:26] corporation, and the dividend receivable

[45:29] increased decreased by 2 million to 1.7

[45:32] million, which is larger than the

[45:33] budgeted dividend of $1 million.

[45:36] The investment in Powell River Community

[45:38] Forest, which is the equity the city

[45:40] owns of the entity, increased by $2

[45:42] million to $3 million, primarily due to

[45:44] higher net income in the company.

[45:47] So, overall, the net financial assets

[45:49] came in at 23.9 million.

[45:53] Looking at the non-financial assets, um

[45:56] the tangible capital assets decreased by

[45:58] $1 million, primarily due to

[46:01] amortization, but uh is pretty

[46:03] consistent with the prior year.

[46:05] Resulting in accumulated surplus of 240

[46:08] million.

[46:12] The next statement I'd like to bring to

[46:13] your attention is the consolidated

[46:14] statement of operations. So, this

[46:17] provides a summary of the financial

[46:19] results from uh the year ended December

[46:21] 31st of 2025 as compared to the prior

[46:24] year.

[46:26] So, taxation came in pretty much as

[46:28] expected at 30.2 million. The minor

[46:31] variance is due to the

[46:32] you know, to the budget is due to the

[46:34] supplementary assessment from BC

[46:36] Assessment that it that are issued.

[46:41] Government transfers was 3.3 million,

[46:44] which was 5.2 million below budget

[46:46] primarily due to actual grant revenue

[46:48] recognized being lower as there are

[46:50] projects that did not progress as

[46:51] planned for various reasons.

[46:54] Uh the most significant was the complex

[46:55] thermal ice heat plant recovery project

[46:58] that had a grant budget of 1.8 million,

[47:00] but didn't proceed during the year.

[47:03] And then also, when we look at the prior

[47:04] year, there was a large portion of grant

[47:06] funding that was recognized due to the

[47:08] airport rehabilitation project.

[47:11] So, overall revenue came in at 54.2

[47:13] million, which is lower due to the

[47:15] government transfers from the prior

[47:16] year.

[47:20] So, looking at the expenses, uh one

[47:22] thing to note is we're required on the

[47:25] financial statements to report the

[47:27] original budget that was adopted. So,

[47:29] any budget amendments that were made

[47:30] during the year are not in the budget

[47:32] column here.

[47:35] So, [clears throat] uh budget amendments

[47:36] like the CUPE collective agreement, for

[47:38] example, which was signed in 2025 is not

[47:41] in here.

[47:43] Um so, protective [clears throat]

[47:44] services increased by 1.2 million to 9.4

[47:47] million primarily due to police costs

[47:49] increasing almost 1 million as RCMP

[47:52] contract costs increased and there were

[47:53] more members year over year.

[47:56] The protective services overall was over

[47:58] budget by 429,000

[48:00] due to the fire department incurring

[48:02] overtime to cover long-term injury and

[48:04] illness for a significant portion of the

[48:06] year.

[48:08] Recreation parks and cultural services

[48:10] increased to 7.4 million and was 239,000

[48:14] over the original budget primarily due

[48:16] to higher wages driven by the new KIP

[48:18] wage agreement or the collective

[48:20] agreement. But having said that, if we

[48:22] look at the budget amendments that were

[48:24] um

[48:25] uh approved during the year, that they

[48:27] were actually under budget.

[48:30] So, there was a loss on disposal on

[48:32] disposal of tangible capital assets of

[48:34] 723,000

[48:36] which was primarily related to the

[48:37] disposal of old asphalt pavement that

[48:40] was replaced during the airport paving

[48:42] project.

[48:43] And overall, the annual surplus was 4.5

[48:47] million which was lower than the prior

[48:48] year and budget primarily due to lower

[48:51] government transfers.

[48:53] Thank you. If there's any questions or

[48:55] comments, I'd be happy to answer them.

[48:59] » I just noticed you didn't highlight it

[49:00] there, but the development planning and

[49:02] building services was higher than 24 but

[49:05] a million lower than what the budget

[49:07] was. Are those just development and

[49:09] permit fees and things?

[49:12] >> Uh so, for the uh environmental and

[49:14] » Uh so, for the uh environmental and

[49:14] public health, which sorry, which one

[49:15] were you looking at there?

[49:16] >> The development planning and building

[49:17] » The development planning and building

[49:17] services right under the recs and parks.

[49:20] >> Yeah, so that's 1.9 million that it came

[49:22] » Yeah, so that's 1.9 million that it came

[49:22] in at versus uh

[49:24] 2.9 million and um it's primarily

[49:27] related to

[49:28] uh lower staff levels than than

[49:30] budgeted. So,

[49:31] makes sense.

[49:33] Does that really help?

[49:34] >> So, we're talking about government

[49:35] » So, we're talking about government

[49:35] transfers and and projects we didn't

[49:37] start. So, does that mean we didn't

[49:39] receive grants we expected to receive

[49:41] and they're gone now or we will receive

[49:43] them in a different year or did I

[49:45] misunderstand you?

[49:46] >> Yeah, I know, it's a good question. So,

[49:47] » Yeah, I know, it's a good question. So,

[49:47] basically um

[49:49] how how it works is as projects proceed,

[49:52] that's when we recognize grant revenue

[49:54] cuz as we spend eligible grant money,

[49:57] that's when we recognize the grant

[49:58] revenue. So, uh it doesn't mean that

[50:00] we've um releasing grants. In some

[50:03] cases, we might have grants, but we have

[50:05] to record them as deferred revenue until

[50:06] the project starts. Uh in some cases, we

[50:09] put um

[50:11] you know, government transfers grant

[50:12] revenue or not grant revenue, but we

[50:14] budget for that grant revenue. Um and we

[50:17] haven't even actually been approved for

[50:18] the grant yet, but we're just putting in

[50:20] the budget hoping that it's going to get

[50:21] approved. So, yeah, there's it doesn't

[50:23] mean that we're losing out on grant

[50:25] opportunities. It's just projects are

[50:26] not proceeding as planned.

[50:28] >> So, we haven't turned back grants.

[50:31] » So, we haven't turned back grants.

[50:31] It's not grants that we turned back cuz

[50:33] we couldn't do the project in time or

[50:35] something.

[50:36] >> Um I mean, I can think of one situation

[50:40] » Um I mean, I can think of one situation

[50:40] where that's that's happened um where

[50:42] basically the project couldn't

[50:45] uh couldn't proceed. So, um the it just

[50:47] didn't happen and then the grant the

[50:49] grant money uh will be returned to the

[50:51] granter. Yeah.

[50:54] Mr. Shelton?

[50:58] » Just two more questions.

[51:00] I'm specifically curious about the

[51:03] Rec Complex [clears throat]

[51:04] uh thermal facilities uh grant federal

[51:06] grant. Was that the one that was

[51:08] returned

[51:09] or expired?

[51:11] >> Yeah, so my understanding with that

[51:12] » Yeah, so my understanding with that

[51:13] project is uh there are some funding

[51:15] challenges with that project and so um

[51:18] it's in the budget for 2027. So, it's

[51:20] still you know, hope to proceed, but

[51:23] it's just uh yeah, there there's been a

[51:25] bit of delay on it. So,

[51:26] >> So, that money that federal money is

[51:27] » So, that money that federal money is

[51:27] still waiting to

[51:29] be applied. Is it?

[51:31] >> Um

[51:33] » Um

[51:33] to be honest, I can't remember the exact

[51:35] status of it, but I just know yeah, it's

[51:36] in the 2027 budget and it was the

[51:38] project was going to cost more than was

[51:40] uh anticipated.

[51:42] >> Right.

[51:43] » Right.

[51:43] Okay, thank you.

[51:45] >> Mr. Palm.

[51:46] » Mr. Palm.

[51:46] >> Mr. Chair, just for further

[51:48] » Mr. Chair, just for further

[51:48] clarification, you were talking about

[51:49] the the roof replacement.

[51:52] Which fund Which funding were you to uh

[51:58] The the

[51:59] That wasn't Community Forest funds in

[52:01] old was it?

[52:03] >> No.

[52:04] » No.

[52:04] It's a

[52:05] federal grant.

[52:06] >> For the uh the heat exchanger projects,

[52:08] » For the uh the heat exchanger projects,

[52:08] I I can't remember what the funding

[52:10] source was uh for that. I'm not sure if

[52:12] uh CFO Bajergaard remembers, um but I I

[52:15] can speak to the uh the

[52:17] uh complex the pool roof. I I remember

[52:19] that one. So, that's uh

[52:21] that's partially Community Forest funded

[52:23] and uh we're waiting on that one for um

[52:25] to determine whether or not uh the grant

[52:28] application was successful for the

[52:29] Strategic Priorities Fund, which I

[52:31] believe we're uh supposed to expect in a

[52:34] couple months.

[52:36] >> Yep.

[52:36] » Yep.

[52:36] >> Councillor Isaacson.

[52:40] » Thank you, Chair. Um I'm wondering if

[52:41] you can speak to I think it's always a

[52:43] curiosity different organizations treat

[52:46] um annual surpluses. And so, when I look

[52:49] at our statement of operations, the

[52:50] annual surplus this year was um

[52:54] um over $4 million. And so, that feels

[52:58] like a lot of money that was taxed for

[53:00] that wasn't put to use. And so, can you

[53:03] speak to how how we

[53:07] um what we do with those funds and ways

[53:10] to tax to the levels that we expect to

[53:14] to spend operationally annually.

[53:18] » Yeah, through the chair. So, there

[53:20] actually will be a report coming forward

[53:21] in the near future um discussing

[53:23] surplus. So, it'll go into more detail,

[53:26] but uh yeah, surplus is used to put into

[53:29] reserves to save for the future, um and

[53:32] it's also used to you know, fund

[53:34] tangible capital assets as well. So, um

[53:37] you know, you see a $4 million

[53:39] surplus there, but uh it you know, it's

[53:41] it's being allocated and saved for the

[53:43] future, right?

[53:45] >> Through the chair, maybe I could just

[53:47] » Through the chair, maybe I could just

[53:47] address that question in part.

[53:50] We have to be careful to distinguish

[53:53] between the accrued surplus versus cash

[53:55] surplus.

[53:57] So, that figure that you're noting is

[53:59] based on an accrual and it includes

[54:02] non-cash items such as amortization,

[54:06] things like that. So, a truer picture is

[54:09] when you look at the cash surplus, which

[54:11] is identified in the financial

[54:13] statements.

[54:14] And there's a surplus related to the

[54:17] water fund,

[54:18] the sewer fund, and the general fund.

[54:21] And the overall cash surplus went down

[54:23] by $400,000.

[54:28] » Thank you for the clarification, Mr.

[54:30] Berglund.

[54:31] Any further questions from council?

[54:36] Being none, anything else on the

[54:38] presentation, Mr. Youngren?

[54:43] » That's it for me.

[54:46] Actually, one thing I'll just mention

[54:47] just about the question about

[54:49] bankruptcy. I mean, one of the things

[54:51] that we have to answer every year is

[54:53] going concern, right? So, is the city

[54:55] operating on a going concern basis,

[54:56] which means that we believe that it's

[54:58] going to continue operating into the

[54:59] future, and the auditors have to assess

[55:01] that as well. So, there's no concern on

[55:04] my end about the city's ability to

[55:05] continue operating as a going concern.

[55:08] >> Through the chair, maybe I could address

[55:10] » Through the chair, maybe I could address

[55:10] that question as well.

[55:12] Um

[55:13] >> Go ahead.

[55:14] » Go ahead.

[55:14] >> You know, the

[55:16] » You know, the

[55:16] the city has

[55:18] fairly healthy reserves that went up by

[55:20] 3 million during the year.

[55:22] You know, a good percentage of those

[55:23] reserves, of course, are the community

[55:25] forest money says well.

[55:27] And as we know, you know, they are

[55:29] designated more for capital

[55:32] and cannot be used for operations, but

[55:34] overall, I think the city's financial

[55:37] picture from a reserve point of view is

[55:40] has improved from 2024 to 2025.

[55:44] And um

[55:46] you know, at the end of the day um

[55:50] you know, a surplus and reserves will

[55:53] grow over time if we have a disciplined

[55:56] approach

[55:57] to saving money.

[55:59] Um

[55:59] and I think that's what long-term

[56:01] financial planning does for you. It

[56:03] allows you to set aside money is on a

[56:06] disciplined basis to get into a better

[56:08] financial position over time.

[56:13] » Thank you, Mr. Mayor. You're good.

[56:14] Counselor Doep.

[56:16] >> Now, I'm going to move the motion that

[56:18] » Now, I'm going to move the motion that

[56:18] council approve

[56:20] the City of Powell River's draft 2025

[56:23] financial statements as presented. And

[56:25] if there's a second here, I'll speak on

[56:27] it momentarily.

[56:28] >> Okay, Counselor Doep. Go ahead,

[56:29] » Okay, Counselor Doep. Go ahead,

[56:29] Counselor Doep.

[56:30] >> Well, I'm I appreciate the presentation

[56:32] » Well, I'm I appreciate the presentation

[56:32] of staff and the auditors today. I'm

[56:34] glad uh that we're in a a reasonably

[56:37] strong financial position as a city to

[56:39] go forward. I appreciate that. And it's

[56:42] the work of a lot of people on staff and

[56:45] council to try to make sure that we have

[56:47] a plan going forward in the future to

[56:49] take care

[56:51] of the services that council hopes to

[56:53] provide. So, I'm in favor of accepting

[56:56] this and I think it's a good report.

[57:00] >> Counselor Elliott.

[57:01] » Counselor Elliott.

[57:01] >> Thank you. I'm in favor of the motion. I

[57:03] » Thank you. I'm in favor of the motion. I

[57:03] just wanted to comment on um

[57:06] the financial position that the city is

[57:08] um if if someone is worried about taxes

[57:12] continuing to increase, a disciplined

[57:14] model of savings has, you know, a

[57:17] certain percentage of increase each

[57:18] year. So, we're not looking at decreases

[57:21] in any time soon in order to get our

[57:23] reserves to where they're meant to be to

[57:26] support a city with the infrastructure

[57:28] of the size that we have. And so, that

[57:30] is um the reality of having a city such

[57:34] as ours with lots of

[57:36] infrastructure that's aging. So um I I

[57:40] am in favor of the motion. I don't

[57:43] believe our city is going bankrupt, but

[57:45] I do believe it is um requiring extra

[57:48] savings to deal with the assets that we

[57:50] have. Thanks.

[57:53] >> It's a problem.

[57:54] » It's a problem.

[57:54] >> Yeah, thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate

[57:56] » Yeah, thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate

[57:56] all the information that has been uh

[57:58] discussed

[57:59] uh

[58:00] today and the work by staff and our

[58:03] auditor.

[58:04] I guess the one major concern on a

[58:06] go-forward basis in terms of the uh

[58:08] comment that Councillor Doughty received

[58:10] is

[58:12] um

[58:13] the condition of our roads and what's

[58:14] underneath uh the pavement in terms of

[58:17] uh

[58:18] our infrastructure.

[58:20] That is going to be something that uh

[58:23] is has to be dealt with sooner or later

[58:25] and it's uh long overdue.

[58:28] I don't think our reserves are anywhere

[58:30] near the where they should be in that

[58:31] regard and uh

[58:33] that's something that we have to keep in

[58:35] in mind uh as the city goes forward.

[58:38] Thank you, Chair.

[58:41] >> Okay. Well, before I call the vote,

[58:43] » Okay. Well, before I call the vote,

[58:43] because I might forget if I don't do

[58:44] this now, I want to thank staff and

[58:47] especially thank uh Mr. Beauregard who's

[58:50] uh served as our interim CFO for the

[58:51] last uh 6 7 months. Today is his uh

[58:54] final day and his final duty here. So,

[58:56] thank you for uh your service to our

[58:58] city for this brief period of time in

[59:00] this transition. We welcome our new CFO

[59:02] and uh we wish you the best in your

[59:04] future endeavors.

[59:06] >> Thank you.

[59:08] » Thank you.

[59:08] >> And I'll call the question. All in

[59:09] » And I'll call the question. All in

[59:09] favor.

[59:11] That is unanimous.

[59:13] >> Through the chair, could I just provide

[59:15] » Through the chair, could I just provide

[59:15] a few remarks?

[59:16] >> Sounds good.

[59:18] » Sounds good.

[59:18] >> I just like to acknowledge uh the work

[59:20] » I just like to acknowledge uh the work

[59:20] of staff in completing year end and the

[59:23] financial statements. Um

[59:26] throughout the year um

[59:28] there were staff shortages in finance,

[59:30] but they persevered and produced the

[59:33] financial statements

[59:35] in a fairly timely manner.

[59:38] And under Ryan's leadership, they

[59:41] gelled together to produce the

[59:43] statements and to provide a clean audit

[59:46] opinion, which I think is to be

[59:47] commended.

[59:51] » Good to hear.

[59:52] We have a great team.

[59:54] So.

[59:55] >> Uh, moving into public clarification,

[59:57] » Uh, moving into public clarification,

[59:57] Mr. Glinsky.

[1:00:10] » Uh, good afternoon, Chair. Thank you for

[1:00:12] the opportunity. Um, I was watching Mr.

[1:00:15] Youngman's presentation and

[1:00:17] with great interest and I was looking in

[1:00:20] the agenda package and I did not see it

[1:00:22] there. Am I missing something?

[1:00:26] >> Well, the presentation, yeah, the slides

[1:00:27] » Well, the presentation, yeah, the slides

[1:00:27] weren't part of the package, so.

[1:00:31] » Uh, that would be wonderful, Chair. I'll

[1:00:33] make arrangements with Mr. Youngman.

[1:00:34] Yes.

[1:00:35] >> Councillor Elliott has some comments.

[1:00:36] » Councillor Elliott has some comments.

[1:00:36] >> Thank you. So, I was following along in

[1:00:39] » Thank you. So, I was following along in

[1:00:39] um, slides that were a part of appendix

[1:00:41] B

[1:00:43] of the BDO presentation. And so, maybe

[1:00:48] that's where it's at.

[1:00:49] >> He's referring to Mr. Youngman's

[1:00:51] » He's referring to Mr. Youngman's

[1:00:51] presentation.

[1:00:51] >> Oh, okay.

[1:00:52] » Oh, okay.

[1:00:52] >> I believe most of the data was in

[1:00:53] » I believe most of the data was in

[1:00:54] appendix A, but not in the slide format,

[1:00:56] so.

[1:00:57] >> Right. Okay, yeah, they're part of the

[1:00:58] » Right. Okay, yeah, they're part of the

[1:00:58] finance, yeah.

[1:01:03] » That's awesome. Thank you, Chair. I

[1:01:05] appreciate the opportunity.

[1:01:06] >> Okay, Mr. Glinsky.

[1:01:09] » Okay, Mr. Glinsky.

[1:01:09] Uh, any callers online, Mr. Sian?

[1:01:14] There's no one online and seeing that, I

[1:01:15] believe I can just adjourn.

[1:01:18] Yeah, meeting is adjourned. Thank you,

[1:01:19] everyone.

Special Council Meeting - 14 May 2026

Transcript