Special counsel, meeting of the District of West Carolina, council chambers, commencing a little late at one 40-game on the 21st of January 2014.
The meeting is open to the public and all representations to counsel for part of the public record.
The meeting is being webcast live and will be archived on the District's website.
Without a word, Mr. Snissler, to determine the late items.
Thank you Mr. Mayor. The first item is replacement page 15.
It's a capital funding request for Griffith's place, Stormdrainant, and the second
late item is a regional rescue report.
Thank you. Could we have a motion to adopt the agenda?
We'll do seconded, opposed to any code.
Let me have a minutes of the regular council meeting.
January 14, moved and seconded on favor, opposed to any code.
And with that, we will proceed directly to 9.4.1, draft 2014-23 financial plan, and 10-year
capital plan, Mr. Johnson.
I thank you, our ship members of Council, as we report on your agenda on page 11.
The intent was to go over the budget binders that were previously provided to Council
at the December 10th meeting.
You were supposed to comprise the 6th budget for the District of West Carolina.
There is a recommendation is that Council give first reading to the District of West
Colonial Financial Plan by on number one, and that the tax increase for 2014
be set at 2.95% and that staff be directed to transfer the annual allocated funds of
$4,917 to reserves for future expenditures.
You worshiped there are four separate components of this budget and I anticipate that there
may be some changes that Council is looking forward to that for a commended motion based
on some of the refinements that you might make throughout the core, what we're considering
value added to the FTEs and the grant needs as well as the operational plan items in your
worship.
Ms. Garrison's here to take counsel through that and through those various work components.
And of course, as always, at any time, if Council has any questions, please feel free to
stop the presentation and we're happy to answer questions as we go along to make sure that
Council has the opportunity to give the direction that Council would like to in the financial
plan as presented for your worship.
Please, Christine, how many slides do you have?
15.
Okay.
Still, I've generated a lot of discussion.
You're Roshobe Council.
Thank you very much.
Welcome to the 2014-2023 draft financial plan.
I certainly hope you've had a chance to go through your binders.
Through some of the sections, I will be referencing some of the page numbers
And some of it, we will just be going through by section.
So we'll talk a little bit about that.
So my suggested plan for review is going
to be first to offer look at our FTE requests.
Then we'll go through operating budget by division.
This is more where I'm going to point to some page numbers
and give you some of the highlights through that.
Certainly, if you have any other questions,
you can stop me.
The supplement will operate in requests after that.
We'll go through that one line by line, each one of them.
and we'll have staff available to speak on that.
Capital budget by division.
So that'll be the bulk of it I'm sure.
Our capital is divided by divisions, roads,
storm drainage, etc.
We'll go through each division.
In the prior year, we actually had motions
related to that on those blocks.
And if that works for council,
and we can do that again, and approve each section
as we go through it with amendments as required.
As mentioned in my report,
There was two supplemental capital requests that have a reason since the strapped report was brought forward, so we'll have to deal with those two as well.
And finally, we're looking at grants and aid.
So as in the prior years, we have a staff here to talk to you.
If you have specific questions about capital, most of the operating I can answer, but certainly we have staff available for that as well.
So just a quick on let's next.
So after this bylaw I'm trying to receive first reading,
the supplemental capital requests and any changes you've made
will be made to the sheets and the binders.
There'll be new sheets produced.
That's what we will be taking forward subsequently
to the public input session.
So they will actually see the budget as you've amended
after the first reading.
We'll do update on that public input session
as well as second and third readings of the by-law in early April and adoption of the by-law in late April along with the tax rate by-law as well.
So let's start with a supplemental question.
I ask one question, and that is, as with some, sometimes with capital requests and major projects,
well we have the opportunity for a fully approval to get things going as opposed to waiting to late April.
Yes. So, in prior years, we have brought the early approvals along with the budget. However,
given this year the format that we've put it in with the value versus the base, the base,
versus the value added, and we're requesting Council's input on those, we will be bringing
forward early approvals to the next meeting based on the decisions that are made today.
I
think you are just in terms of there are a couple of reports on the agenda that are linked to items within the budget and on the FKE request.
There was the Bala services update on page 41 of the agenda package, which DevTales with this request.
So Council is able to deal with these as that's the background information that goes along with that.
So I just want to bring that to your attention.
So there are three FTE requests.
We have two parts, some are students, and these two positions will take on not only
routine maintenance, but also there is a discussion that Council had regarding parks and
ambassadors, and so there is the feeling that these two students would take on a role of a
parks ambassador.
We recognize, however, that the parks ambassador role is a limited role, and during limited
hours and limited months. So we're hoping that the parks will be able to utilize these summer
students outside of those limited hours and months. Councillor Williamsburg. Thank you, Mr.
Mayor, do this that grows. Those are two positions. Gavin, there would be for about $14,000 each.
What's the period of time per which they'd be hired? How many of them?
So that is from approximately made through August that those positions run.
And on the applying tech and the Bylon enforcement officer, my understanding is that those are, I'm a certain, I use indeterminate or term, I mean we've made indeterminate, they are temporary, made permanent type positions.
Both of those positions are not.
are currently temporary positions? The by-law officer was at the request of Council on
the Choir, the other position has been in place for a few years.
Okay, so I really know that increase in FTEs.
No.
Okay.
You're looking for a motion.
Yeah.
I will so move that we approve the FTE request has presented, seconded by Councillor Nelson discussion
on favour, what's the benefit in trade?
Okay.
Operating budget by division.
So this afternoon I'm going to go sort of over
some of the highlights I'll be referencing a page number more than anything. Please start
me if you have any questions.
So the first thing that I want to draw your attention to is
on page 8, general revenue
under administration. So administration is the costs that we charge
out to cover the administration of the district and those costs are
dividend out to between all of our divisions, so everybody pays their fair share for some of
a common costs.
The one that I really kind of wanted to add attention to, that wasn't there in the prior
years, the capital projects.
I mentioned it briefly in my discussion with you on December 10th, but this is the amount
of the overhead that we've determined should be allocated to capital projects.
This is really kind of covers, you know, staff time, photocopying vehicles, et cetera, et cetera,
everything that gets used during the course of the management of the contracts, and it
reflects that.
Now that is being funded out of the capital fund, and that has not affected the reserves or the
data which we reach are recommended reserves, but it certainly does help to offset some of the
costs of City Hall.
Mr. Mayor, just a question regarding the growl ops, I noticed a mid portion from growl ops,
and then recoverable from growl ops, doesn't extend beyond twenty-fifteen.
Has something changed there, is there a threshold for that?
Jason?
That was a term position, your Russia.
That came forward.
So once again, just as you've dealt with those FTEs, supplemental here, that will be in consideration
in twenty-fifteen.
And I think also of note with that particular position is with the change in the legislation
about to grow ups and moving that, I would understand that there would probably be substantial
opportunity for revenue in the upcoming year.
Councillor Zanan.
Thank you, Richard.
I was just wondering about that second last item, Mary Scycling Recovery from mapping
in 2000, 200,000 into 340, is it, I'd like to know what the optimism there is.
So recycling a cover is actually on my list.
The recycling a cover is actually the agreement that you've entered into with the MMBC regarding the printed paper and materials.
So the $200,000 reflects the portion that we're receiving in 2014 and 2015 will be a fully year of the contract.
The contract doesn't actually begin until the second quarter.
The other one that I wanted to draw your attention to was the transit custom fairs.
It's actually down.
That is related to the changes that Council made in its reflection of the actual amount
that we'll be receiving based on the changes that were made in the fall of late 2012.
So, please, I have some of our speakers, Councillor Norles, and office.
Thank you, Russia.
I think I'm on page page 8.
The transport and management, I thought we were going to be withdrawing from that.
Thank you.
That is no longer a program.
Through the regional district.
This is one that we remet through to the Sustainable Transportation Partnership.
So this is our requisition to be part of that position.
TDM.
It could have been STPCO is what that should have been put down as.
But it was that TDM also was.
Then the previous year's.
But it's no longer a function.
Through the regional district.
Thank you.
Councilor Office.
Thank you.
I'd just question about.
I certainly agree with the principle of.
charging and administration fees on capital projects, but it's interesting and a little bit
discussion about how you came up with the amount that's being charged because it seems
and obviously is very low in terms of recovery when it's compared to the standard
administration charge. So what's the philosophy there for how the cost of recovery?
So we based that basically on a percentage of the amount of capital that's approximately
two percent, give or take of the amount of capital that we're performing this year, and that's
based more on sort of what other municipalities are charging. This has been new for us, we've
never done this before, so it's more an estimation and based on prior history of other municipalities.
Thank you. I think it's, as I say, very justified, because it really is a better reflection
of what it really costs to get those projects done. When you think about doing a project
in one of the water systems that there's no recovery for it been overhead for all the time
that gets spent by the general staff on a project like that.
We're not charging through the utility to write service fees, to write service to our
customer.
I'm glad to see the $200 dollar start, probably isn't enough.
Through the Russia, it certainly wages between the municipalities between two and up to as
just six. We started at two and thought how we'd see how that went to carry on.
Cemetery plot sales is going to be the other ones I wanted to identify here. There's
certainly a substantial increase in cemetery plot sales on this one and that's reflective
of all the work that we've done on the cemetery so that we will see corresponding increases
in the expenditure side as well on that one.
So, over to page 9,
there isn't much on this page, it's significant, rather wise, there's
about boochery, plodobo lentils, of course, is going to be zero this year, since we've converted
that to our own use, and the neighborhood of learning lentils is new, that's on our Marjox school.
Again, not significant fines, but they are changes this year.
Councilor Deon has a question.
Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
Just question.
Revenue and grass cutting.
If we're re cutting for someone else.
Through course away down just for our west side seniors.
If you're 10,000 dollars for revenue for grass cutting.
I assume maybe the district or regional district that we're cutting for or something.
I think that that is a recovery program.
Yeah.
That we cut grass and then recover the funds from.
could be as a result of enforcement, by law enforcement,
like we've cut grass, and then we force people to pay for it,
basically, so which is most of the middle of fun.
And I have a very small and insignificant one, but I'm curious, so can revenue. Why do we have revenue from so can, usually that's an expenditure?
Oh, that's seven o'clock again.
No, that's the payment to the agency that for playing music. If you perform someone, I forget what it stands for.
It's a federal agency that collects money from musicians for playing music.
And you pay, usually.
I mean, if you play the top hits, it's a wedding, at a wedding, you pay.
So I don't understand why this is a revenue item.
That one I don't have to look in here.
I'm not sure about that one.
Thanks.
Councilor.
Thank you.
I think we just collect that revenue on behalf of some of our users.
And we remit it.
It's part of their rental agreement.
That's why it's done like that.
Could be.
OK.
Ten.
So, on 10, we had some storm sewer recovery amounts, and it's not the this year,
and
really that's related project based.
So, if we expect that there's some projects coming up, that will be a re-inverse
portion before we put it in, and if there's none this year, then there's none this year.
So, that's why that one's gone.
Is there anything else on?
It was similarly, we know the pitch 10, the grow up finds by a lot of worship drops right off.
And I guess that's the same situation, and we had a three-year arrangement, and we'll have to look at what it is beyond 2015.
That's correct.
Councillor Winsby?
One question of notice going through this that there are a number of items where there are no figures attached either in previous years or going forward and then wondering why those why those things are there. Is there a different reason for different.
One depends whether.
So, any lines that we have that don't have anything attached, we've used previously, and in our
budget software they've because they've got history attached to them, they've stayed
in there, and to hide them is a difficult process, so they've there, because we may use them
again in the future.
Thank you.
It's a software thing.
It's a software.
We understand.
So I want to draw your attention on page 11.
Of course last year was the last year.
We didn't receive anything except for small amount for the provisional government conditional grant for the RCMP.
So that was the last of the funding, our transition funding, and it is done.
We are officially complete now. There's zero transition funds left.
The carrier code amount, you'll notice that most of the carrier code amounts to zero.
Those aren't calculated yet, of course we calculate those as we work through our year-end process,
and those will be coming forward in the second and third readings.
So the expenditure highlights.
So I'm going to really just sort of touch on for you the expenditure highlights on the areas that have
more significant changes.
But if you have other questions, Jason?
Thank you, worship.
What we wanted to do was point out the material changes for you.
And of course, if you've got any questions of any of the particular items,
as you've gone through the budget, we're happy to answer those.
But rather than drag you into the details of each particular one,
Ms. Garrison's recommendation was to really go over those ones that are material,
and should be brought to your attention, so that you're aware of it.
But like I said, we're happy to answer any questions in the budget.
I think Council will never meet reviewed those pages and pick something out.
They want to ask about it and that's perfectly fine.
Absolutely.
So let's get back. There was the first couple and that's somebody who had some questions.
And administrative issues.
Councilor Wilson.
Yes, I would say one question in the administration page.
And that's where the regards to the civic grants.
I know that we'll be talking about grants and aids in a little while, but is that
is that pertain to the grants and aid, like, preserve the 307,000,000?
Yeah.
So that's non-cash and cash.
That's non-cash and cash.
Okay.
So, I had to come up with that number based on the fact that there's about, there's a total, I guess,
applied for a 413,000.
So, as Empire years we've always set it at the same amount that was in 2013.
13 and then we adjust that based on councils discussion after we've gone through those grant
needs and we'll adjust that figure. Okay so if the aground needs ends up being higher than
307 there will be an impact.
Absolutely. So there are some things that we will go through
between now and April 2nd and 3rd and refine and we may have some better numbers on for instance
growth is a good example of that, because our plan doesn't actually revise row we call it,
which gives us our final assessment numbers comes in on March 31st, which also gives us
our final grant number, final new growth numbers. So if there is some room in our new growth,
we would use that and offset some, so we go back through and offset the, what's been increased
and what's been, there's more revenue and then come back again on second and third reading.
Mr. John Stephen.
Thank you.
Mr. Stephen.
The finance department.
So, when they typically looked at the growth numbers, they've been very conservative.
So, they're generally some movement when the role comes forward, particularly in the growth
here that we've had, and I believe in the past year, we'll probably see some flexibility from
what we might see here today.
Okay.
Carry on.
Financial administration.
Very little change.
Corporate services, so that's the first big one, is actually a decrease in corporate services
here, of 8.56%,
so this is actually the result of the restructuring that was recently
completed, and one of the staff members that was formally under corporate services was moved
over to the finance department, and so that's why you'll see a big decrease here. The finance
department was able to incorporate that position with that with very little increased
to their own budgets.
Mr. Jones.
I counsel will note throughout the budgets.
There is our decreases as a result of that restructuring.
It has previously presented to Council.
So that net reduction in the three FTEs is reflected in the budget.
Councillor Winsley.
I think in this way, very quickly, I see no anticipated expenditure for expenditure
or other boardraisles and landscaping costs.
Is this being done by someone else?
In other words, these are costs that are going to be absorbed.
So we actually moved those expenditures over
to the development services group,
where they are actually expended out of.
So we have done some work within the budget this year
of moving budget monies around to who actually
uses them as opposed to where they were originally set up.
Thank you.
At some point in further to what Mr. Johnson says,
I think we should probably have an outline of the full savings that came about through our restructuring process.
And I think council may have some idea, but I think that something we should have a decision if we could.
So we can fully understand why sometimes restructuring as painful as it might be for some people is necessary.
So the next one I had is actually on page 19.
So in between that we have a site decrease in HR.
Councils and alls.
Thank you, Russia.
We see the agreement.
Was it?
19.
Yeah.
Okay.
You'll fleece by 160,000.
Mm-hmm.
That just reflects the RCMP.
That reflects our current contract with the RCMP, yes.
That obviously is the content of
what we have, we have the detail of what the RCMP increases are, and that is covered by that, right?
That's correct.
So when Mr. Lanthia came forward and discussed with Council recently this fall about the OCMP budget and some of the issues that he talked about that were increasing the cost to the municipalities that the reflection of that.
I can most notably being the tax for a sorry edifice that they're putting in place.
Headquarters to see that we all pay something for what's to have a big fancy
police station with all kinds of antennas on down there in in, in, in, in,
So 20 fire, fire is a 3,4,3,1 increase. Of course, there's contractual wage increases
in fire department. There's also in relation to that increases for the education, because
a lot of their training is done off shift. So when there's contractual increase in wages,
you also get contract, are you getting increases in their off shift wages as well?
Mr. Jones.
Thank you.
You are so once again, this is an item that Council has received the report on the agenda.
This is the educational component within that budget that is increased from that regional
program that is being proposed to be taken on and as fund itself resulting in the budget
for that background and that additional report that was provided in the later agenda on page
40.1 does speak to the increases that Council is contemplating within the budget version.
Just to add to that is that we have not reflected the 42,000 dollars that was previously
paid through the RECO that's not currently in this number.
So we haven't added that yet to our general tax.
Any of the other increases in decreases that you see down the lines there is mostly
reallocation to better reflect where we have actually spent money in that budget.
Is it a concept pleasure to go over that section of that report to document a bit late
on fire services at this point?
Sort of the rest of this on hold and go to that.
Do we have everyone here?
We need here.
Okay.
Lots of uniforms today.
So, this is then the agenda item nine for two, setting aside nine for one for now, regional rescue of Mr. Johnson.
Thank you, Ourship Members of Council.
The regional rescue program has been a program that's been under review of the regional district for some three years now in terms of looking at contemplating changes from the program that was originally established in the 1980s.
80s, the establishment bylaws for this program itself may not reflect accurately what is actually
being provided by the program, which is partially the reason why the regional district
undertook the review.
Chief Smith's there has sat on the internal staff committee of the regional rescue, as well
as director of office, has been a member of the recent review committee who I'm sure can
provide additional context and background.
In terms of bringing this forward to the budget, the key question for staff to get answered by
Council is this a program that you wish us to move forward with as I'm able first of
this year, because in order to do so, there's a significant amount of training that we have to
do in order to make these non-core issues of the regional program effective for the District
of West Kilona. So there is the financial implications that the finance program has looked at as
the program overview that the fire department will take counsel through and of course this
was a lead item and I expect there will be a number of questions from council that we're
happy to answer your question and I guess it's also fair to say is this while it has budget
budget implications here and now for the district of West Cologne it also has budget implications
for the regional district and based on what we're able to do they'll need to make a
agency in their budget process, and their budget process has a much tighter timeline
than West Kuala, which has to be wrapped in their case, has to be wrapped up by the end
of March.
So Chief Snissler, and if you want to introduce your team, some of whom are newly West
Kuala, and returning to West Kuala.
I don't know if you just go ahead there.
There are the insisting fire chief looks at the fire department in West Kuala.
and chat card for assistive 5G plus 4.
Thanks John, just joined us from summer lunch.
Thank you.
So, as a report of states, I submitted those facts sheets last night.
I know it was a little bit of a clear worship.
The fact sheets that we really wanted to send,
the one that really hasn't been telling this is actually the technical rescue one.
And the technical rescue one, as we went through this process since 2011,
and to move forward to where we are today has established
a difference between core and non-core services
as in the report.
So at that point, what we've moved forward
left through the regional board was a meeting
of our CAOs and fire chiefs in January 15th.
And we determined that how each municipality,
if they were going to deliver non-core services.
They're ability to roll out program forward by March 31st of this year.
And so, ourselves anticipating this as it's been going on for quite a few years.
And our budget process internally, we've been looking at how we can make this happen,
turning with our funds that we have and rolling forward on the 2014 budget.
So, before we get into the BTI, I think what we should do is just review what those services are.
So, everyone's clear on what we're moving forward to.
And I'll get Assistant Chief, our trial to review the slide presentation and the talks
for each service.
Thanks.
Thank you.
So, a bit of the background that we have is this regional program is put together in 1989.
And it was so that the communities surrounding the small communities were able to provide
service without having to provide all the training and funding to do that so that's where the
regional program was born. And it started out and it was, it was dispatch, road rescue, and
every emergency program. Those three, and it has grown ever since, as we have more population
in larger sizes, is there's far more requirements that are put on municipalities. So dispatch,
emergency program, hazardous materials, marine rescue, road rescue, so on and so far, so we'll
go through each one of those. The core services versus normal core services review is what
the research committee has been going through in determining which ones can be broken out of the
regional program, so that individual municipalities can be responsible for those. The core services
that was still be provided through the regional rescue program are going to be fire dispatch,
The emergency program has just materials and marine rescue.
What's been determined for the non-course stuff is basically more of our technical
rescues.
So, road rescue, low-end banquet rescue, high-angle confined space, sweat, water, and ice
rescue.
So, currently, West Cornfire Rescue, we are able to provide a few of these services.
We've been providing road rescue, low-angle and banquet rescue, and ice rescue for the past
So all we're adding to that is the high angle confined space and swift water, three more disciplines under the six.
So these are one of the non-for services we provide which is the road rescue we provide it for
Pepper DMVC, the preventive program we also provide it within our boundary and our west side road.
This is all of the motor vehicle incidents within that area.
Low and bank will press use, so when those motor vehicles end up going off of the road,
what we need to go down there to get a patient is we load them up in a basket stretcher
and bring them back up to the road, or any hikers that are out in our trail network that end
up falling down with a twisted ankle, broken leg, the more ball is we can remove them from
there using all of our gear.
Ice Rescue is also what we provide more currently training on that right now doing the
pressure training. So we have quite a few different areas identified within the boundary of West
Kona where this can come into place and we took this over from the region chiefly how many years ago
leave you ring your fourth year fourth year. Okay. And then we start moving into the more technical
stuff that we don't currently provide, because we don't have the train to do so.
So high-angle rescue is anything where you can't support more than 50% of your own weight,
so most times when you go down the bank, the patient coming back up isn't able to support the
weight, so we have them online. As we start expanding our trail networks, there's going to be more
people out in the back country, still within our district boundary, and in order for us to provide
them sort of the confidence that if something happens and they call 911, we'll be able
to respond.
Compliance based rescue, recently the District of West Carolina conducted a safety audit,
which identified all of these spaces within the District of West Carolina that workers go into.
Currently they are part of compliance based rescue is currently part of the regional program,
So there will be requiring a response or a phenomena instead of within our own boundary.
And Swiftwater rescue has a fresh it's come in the spring and we have anglers along the side of the creeks and whatnot.
Swiftwater currently is in the is looked at now as an all course service.
So those are the three that we're looking to provide moving forward.
Equipment in the training costs.
So in order for us to be able to provide this service,
there's going to be an initial start-up cost.
What we like to do is for a group that's entering into a new discipline,
is get everyone standardized training right off the top,
so that there's no questions.
Any other questions that we do have are answered by contracts and structures?
From that point, we then develop our own training networking group,
and they maintain those skill sets.
Most of their requirements are one day training annually, which we would do off-shift, but we'd be able to do all of our core maintenance skills on shift, so to know extra cost to the district.
We do have, there are many successful means colleagues who have completed recently this type of training for a movie, township, or plainly, and Maple Ridge have also used this.
the original or the initial start-up would be a blended system of on-shift and off-shift
train.
That's a basic rundown if you guys have any questions.
It comes from Windsby. Yeah, thank you, Mr. Mayor. To any one of our illustrious gentlemen,
this regards three things, actually. One, how would this change affect P-Trash, in other words,
would we provide, or could we provide this service to Bechland?
Through your worship, after we get trained in the disciplines, we would definitely have the ability to offer contract services to our neighboring communities.
And secondly, the transition period between withdrawing from the regional service and having our own people trained what happens during that transition period.
would it be? How would these services be provided? Well, if we make our timelines with our
training schedule that we put in place, if this gets proved to move forward, we will be able
to have this transition ready to go by the transition of the kind of the budget here this year.
So until then, Klona would be still providing those services and then we would take over seamlessly
April 1st. Okay. And thirdly, we would have ongoing training costs now to keep everybody up
It would be a natural exposure.
And only when we looked at the amount, the amount of money that we're paying, I think it's around
42,000 to the region, that money would take care of the ongoing costs of our maintenance training
for our own.
So it's basically a wash.
Yeah, yeah.
Thank you.
Councilor Zannon.
Thank you, Your Worship.
We're just, since I understand the urgency of bringing this report forward at this time,
because we have to incorporate it into the budget.
Unfortunately, it was very late for us.
We just received an understanding.
There are good reasons, this is why it was.
But my question is that he estimated some costs here.
And I'm wondering in scrambling,
if you get this report out to us,
are you truly 100% confident that we are able
and ready to fully provide the training and ramping up
into these programs by this deadline on March 31st.
And secondly, that you've indicated the cost of the program
that there won't be any other forthcoming for this year.
Mr. Jones, thank you, Worship.
This has been a discussion with myself, Farjeef,
and the Finance Department for a number of months
given that the resock has been moving all the way along.
really the opportunity came forward as a result of the meeting that we had with the region last week which prompted us to bring this forward and provide that context to council.
We wouldn't have signed off on the report.
Had we have not been assured by the fire department by finance that we could do this within the set budgets and do it within the timelines of the fire department as but forward in terms of the training plan that they provided to me indicating that they would be up and running by a pro first.
Councillor Dionne and Nelson.
Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
I firmly believe that moving forward with a lot of these services, having our own direct
control on these services, just makes sense.
Particularly when I start hearing that we're already doing low-angle road rescue and ice rescue anyways.
Why would we want to pay an administration fee over to another municipality when we're already doing
services ourselves, duplication of cost just doesn't make sense. Compliance-based swift
water rescue, high-angle rescue of the three new ones for technical rescues. And I think
you answered my question already, Chiefs, just want to hear it again just to make sure you
got it right, because you did a really good job on lining the initial startup costs. A little
bit light on those ongoing costs, but I think you mentioned to Councilor Winsby that you
it will cover those ongoing costs for the extra equipment maintenance and the extra training
is that correct?
Yeah, through your worship, through a kind of operating budget, we have equipment and equipment
line item.
We have equipment throughout the department, which we would continue to use to supply new equipment
to all our aspects that we serve right now.
And the other part is when we talk about the annual maintenance of the program the one day.
It's likely that on what our option time would be already in a system-shaped guard trial is
assure us that we can come up to the standard that's required with those requirements and
still come up to the budget by an item.
Thank you.
Councillor Rossum and myself.
Thank you.
Thanks, Mr. Mayor.
So the services that we haven't been providing ourselves, the other part of the department,
Today, if there's been a 9-O-11 call, we'll call it 9-O-11 call, and it's dispatched
with it in the spatially to the clone of fire department in the ass, or currently.
How's that working through your worship?
The process is the call would come to the west of the clone of fire department.
Okay, we would respond and then make an assessment on the type of incident that we had,
and if we recognized that it was a confined space or a hangover rescue,
Then we would initiate a call-out of the corner and they'd call and then submit a team get a team together
Once the team together, then they would respond over to the district to last corner
Okay, the group going for will be our part. We'll be able to be able to action and call action. Those incidents
Right away without waiting for a team to count so as a result, there should be quicker response. Yes
Okay, thanks without
Well, I would like to speak very strongly in favor of this, and as Chad pointed out, the service was created in 1989.
It has changed somewhat.
We see that, but a lot more has changed than this program since 1989.
And in the regional district of Central Rokinong, at that time, you had one very small municipality,
each man to at that time, what were they 25, 100, probably, and Klauna, which was the big
player in the area.
The rest was rural area, Lake Country, incorporated in the mid-9s, 15, 16 years ago, and
of course, West Klauna, six years ago, population 31,000, both the District and West Klauna,
and the District of Lake Country, have sizable fire operations, and both feel they can take
service on I might add. We're not alone in that. Our friends in Peachland may have to make some
choices whether they want to continue to contract with Colona or West Colona, but our interest
is an obligation is to look after the taxpayer and the citizens of the district of West Colona.
So that's changed. This should move ahead quickly. It's part of our budget, as you can see.
It's also part of the regional budget, as I pointed out earlier, and they have a tighter timeline.
And we, if this slides on any length of time, it's going to slide into 2015.
You know, and this process has been going on.
As has been pointed out, through as the outcome of a service review request from the District of West Carolina.
It's been going on several years now.
And we can success one, some of the other wins and we'll have some comments on notting another meeting, but in the meantime this is another one where we can be someone successful in terms of our service review request if we move
I had to achieve this in short, as it's been pointed out, do we get better servers better response closer to home to deal with rescues at minimal, well, no extra cost and minimal overall cost on the long term basis.
So, this is a win-win for West Carolina quite frankly, and we should be moving ahead as quickly as we can to put the service in place.
Councillor Office.
Thank you, Mr. President.
Certainly, he's a part of everything you've just said.
Having been our Council's representative on the regional board and on the regional rescue service review committee,
this process has been going on for for three years has been and has been studied
to study extensively, so it's really good to see some small part of it, at least
finally come to fruition and I certainly hope our council supports the delivery of
this, this basket of services closer to home.
If could you go back on the slides to the first slide, I think, or the second that had
the end.
Don't lose your mind.
All of the services that are in the, what they call, regional, regional rescue, that really aren't.
I've just clicked up the report that this whole court and non-court framework was put together a couple
of years ago by the review committee, the service review committee, and it was supported by the committee,
and it was supported tentatively by the regional board that we go down this road last spring.
So the non-core services, really, are fundamentally
ones that can be provided locally by some of the local departments
and, obviously, including our own.
And what was left is core services, which
need to be to some degree and have the involvement
of the regional district, are the ones
and the right, the core services.
And some of them are still under, in fact,
they all are, because I never give up on any of them.
But some of them are under continuous review.
and we're hoping to have some progress that can be able to communicate to the council in the next few months.
I just want you to be aware that fire dispatch and emergency program management and so on.
We're still looking at them in terms of what changes and improvements can and need to be made to them.
Because they are very expensive services the way that they're currently configured and that we're always looking for better ways to do things.
I'm just another comment on World Rescue, we provide the World Rescue not only within West
Corona, but also I think as the deputy chief said, outside of Corona, West Corona in the
Coral, basically on West Side Road.
One small part of the World Rescue Program that will be regional, we hope at the end of the
day, is that we will be compensated regionally for the rescue that we're involved with outside
of the boundaries of the District of West Corona.
So we still have our eyes on that, and we're going to try to make sure that we get
compensated for that.
And the reason for that really is the same reason why we would continue to participate
in marine rescue.
The view of the regional board table is that these programs are important to all the citizens
of the central canog, and in other words, it could be a citizen of cloned out on the co-callot
needs of rescuing.
And if we're going to go up there and rescue them, which we are, and as we should be, then
need to have some component of regional compensation for that, just the same as it would be
if a citizen of West Carolina was needing green rescue off the shores of a pot-sense
beach or whatever. That's a regional program, and that's why we contribute to that. And we expect
them to return it in kind when it comes to things like road rescue. Just a couple of comments on
that aspect of it. Thanks, and I just, you know, I don't think council knows how
Howard, Councillor Oofus, has worked on this countless meetings, some of which were very frustrating,
some of which went better than others, often two steps forward, one back, and then two more back,
and one forward to get it to this point. And I think also credit, let's go to Mr. Johnson,
for a lot of hard work in being involved at the CAO level.
There is a CAO committee that is functions all the CAOs in the regional district,
and they looked at this issue countless times,
and similarly to the fire chiefs,
and chiefs, Nessler, who has spent an awful lot of time on this as well.
I'm sure if we tall it up the meeting time of everyone involved,
it would be a very substantial, and it's time to move this forward, constant noise and
constant noise.
Thank you, Richard.
Many thanks to Councillor Oofus and C.A.L. Johnson.
And I guess this is a combination of the huge efforts that have been put forth.
I just would like to be assured that the 99-page document that I received written by
Coronavirus Department, I have an chance to read of course because I just got the whole thing,
and a two-page report from you, which I'm told is perfectly adequate.
I just would like to be assured by you.
So why I think it was necessary for the fortified department to make such a huge report
when it could be covered, you know, you covered it in two pages sort of thing and just be sure that I
didn't need this to join us and we'll answer that and that was the best part of the service
related process. I wouldn't ask the fire chief to comment on that, you worship. We put the report together
in terms of us taking that portion at over. The service review also gets into other areas that
and identified in our reports, and we want to just in terms of discolors, we're making sure
that this council likes to have all the information at hand, at all the information and
various motions that have come forward, but I also like to note that the review isn't
complete yet. There is still some more work to be done at the regional district,
from I understand by our dispatch, continuing discussions around the emergency program,
and even hazardous materials. I was discussing that with the regional district CAO before he was
way this week, so the work is in all completed at this point.
Councillor Nelson, sorry, in that case I am very strongly in favor of this.
Councillor Nelson, thanks Mr. Mayor.
Well, I certainly support the position that our regional directors have taken on this matter
and thank you very much for your hard work.
Thank you, staff, and the way to thank the Department for the good work and what I like
to do at this time is move the fire chiefs of recommend and motion.
second. Councillor Dion. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Just a and I'm going to certainly hope
we've heard this. I did it earlier. I'm quite, quite supportive of bringing these
home under our fire chiefs control and our department. But can we recap a little bit
like to hear a little bit more, a few more comments regarding when this moves forward in
large April and there's an accident up in the connector and obviously we're going to be
How are we going to go after recouping some of those extra costs outside of the regional
system now?
Through the relationship, the auto-extrication one-like councilor office mentioned is one
that we right now were supplemented by there's this special project line on responses
in the regional budget and that supplements are down our short-pull and funding when we're
one up the connector, and so that will have to have continuous talk with the region to maintain
that funding for us responding up the Kentucky connector and ensure that stays on past
April for us.
So that's another portion that we still have to talk with.
Councillor Oswitler, do you want to thank you?
You were just wanted to make very clear that if we're providing these non-core services, other
than road risk, or the GFHS and road risk we just covered off, if we're providing no services,
outside the boundaries of West Columbia, we can only do that if we have a service agreement with the
Rowe West side and or with Pichrand and that is where we expect to go with this program. We expect
that they're going to need us to provide those services and we're waiting for them to come and talk
to us about how that might be done. So that's what we expect to happen. If they haven't made arrangements
with us, the answer is that they and they choose to stay in the existing program and they're going
speech from Colin. If it's a high- and low-rescue up in the Colville,
somewhere. If it's a low-rescue, it's covered off.
Thank you. I think we have everything we need to go on that move in
second-ode, all discussions finished, all in favor, here's the
Communanimus. Thank you, council. Thank you very much. Thank you to presenters.
We'll go back to this garage to take us through the next step.
So this is now part of our budget.
One thing down.
This change is already.
Okay, so we're up to page 21.
So there's an decrease in engineering services operations.
And this one is an interesting one actually.
because this contains our roads budget.
Now, what we've done here is you'll notice there's a line
consulting and testing and road work.
So last year, when we were uncertain of what our contractual
obligations were, what our contract covered, what our
responsibility is, where we had put some money in the
in the consulting there to make sure that it was all covered off.
Now, what we've discovered and we're still refining this and you will
see more going forward is that we need some more specific lines related to road work and road repair.
And so what we've done is this year we've removed that consulting amount and we've brought forward and you'll see them in our supplemental items.
There's a couple relating to roads and you will see them again probably next year and ongoing.
But we've brought back, and this is probably more, we feel, and more transparent when we're doing it, but bringing back lines for what we are actually needing some money for.
So you'll see in our supplemental items, but we're asking for some funds for ditching is one of the areas that we've recognized that we need some money.
So line items correct. So we will be bringing back, and I'm sure this will continue over the next couple of years as we find operations.
And we determine what our budgets and our needs are.
We'll be bringing back line items for council to approve
through the supplemental process, rather than dumping it all
into one line of consulting.
So the other thing that you'll see that the big difference in here
is the 253,000 for snow control costs.
If you recall a second and third reading last year,
we brought forward a recommendation council to dump
sort of additional funds that we found
between first and second and third readings into this one time 253,000 to cover off additional
snow events from last year. So that worked. We used those funds to cover those additional
snow events and we removed that from the budget this year knowing that that was a one time
we're going to put some money in here to before we'd saved some money for that, etc.
So that has been removed.
So that's where you see the 4.54% decrease in this budget.
I see, no hands off, so.
No, no, no.
Where wins be it?
Yeah, and based on the numbers, no events.
So far, they sure, I think we're fairly safe, although it could probably
reverse itself within the next month or in a month and a half.
So we don't bother putting in the contingency going forward years hence.
So we built a reserve fund, as directed in the prior year, we've been putting we put a little bit of money away from the 2012 budget towards that reserve fund.
So we built this reserve fund and last year we'd asked council to max that.
And that's the reserve fund that we'll be asking that we'll be using for snow events going forward.
Between the first reading in the second and third reading last year, we didn't have that reserve fund yet.
We hadn't put away any money from we didn't have funds from 2012 at that point to know.
So we put this in thinking, all we don't know, we're going to get here is so.
So there's no point in doing a contingency line.
Are you going?
So we built what we need.
Yes.
But if we dip into that, then obviously.
You will see the line here again, asking for some additional funds.
It also knows.
Well, how much is it in that reserve of $400,000?
$400,000.
That's very helpful.
That's very good.
Thank you.
Okay.
So let me skip a couple of pages here.
So
there's a 6.34% increase in this budget, which is a bit of a mismurray in the sense that
dollar-wise, it's not a significant amount of money. However, the difference is related to the
temporary officer that this is the carry forward fund related to that temporary officer.
The position is approved until March, until the end of March.
So is it just the funds related to that?
Now, we have a report here on page 41.
Do we need to deal with that now?
Or, I mean, you know, we worship you and dealt with it.
You've dealt with that on the FTE came forward.
You've already busted that was just the pop-down
information provided by Ms. Baton.
We're going to go to the service.
Great.
Thank you.
So Ms. Baton can go back to the report, too.
She's already left away.
That was already good.
Thank you.
Councilor Mills, just a question on this page.
that our administration please go up percentage once, like from your dear.
So, the percentage of administration has not changed from the prior year, however the dollar figure of our administration has changed.
So, you'll see an increase in the administration in most of these areas.
It's also related to the amount of expenses.
So, as the amount went up in here, so did the administration be at the percentage of the total expenditures.
Thank you.
So, the next one is a good new state.
So I had mentioned earlier that there was a reduction in the transit revenue that we were expecting.
On the flip side, there was also a significant reduction in the expenditure cost of the transit as a result of the choices made by Council.
In addition to that, there was also the portion of the transit buses being paid for by gas tax funds that we've previously discussed with Council.
So this is resulted in a very significant savings here in transit.
One of the areas, however, is you'll notice there's a significant increase in community
bus.
That one is being investigated by our staff.
That was a new one where it's transit hit us with.
So we are in the process of looking through that and hope to have a resolution to that
before 2nd and 3rd readings.
Councillor Orfus has a comment.
Thank you.
Well, a question or two, but mostly a comment about transit because I think it's really important
that we put this service into.
Some kind of perspective and keep it on a non-going basis for a number of different reasons. But first, the question, what percentage of transfer services paid for by BC transit? 43 percent?
Okay, so the cost that we see here are a little bit more than half of what it really costs to provide transit service in West Colona. That's one aspect of it.
And you mentioned this, the bus payments, the lease payments, our costs are going down to
certain extent, because we're using strategic gas tax funds at the regional level to pay
for some of our bus leases.
Do we know how much that is?
Three years of I don't have a figure?
Well, I'd be interested to get to get what that is at some point, because of course, that's
another thing that's actually reduced the reported costs for transit, we see here.
So, generally, the point is that it doesn't cost 2.7 million dollars to provide transit in
West Carolina costs closer to $5 million dollars.
So it's very expensive, and of course there's less than a million dollars worth of revenue
coming in at the fair box on that, so netting it all up, but I just want to make the point
that I realize how important transit is to a whole lot of people in West Carolina, and
realize how difficult this whole issue is for council, but we really had to take action a year ago,
I think, to, you know, try to rain into costs a little bit, and it has had, as Ms. Garus said,
a little bit of a positive impact on it, but the quality of transit, according to BC transit numbers,
I think, what they call, months split, transit, a common error accounts for 1% of all the trips,
one percent, all the trips made by residents of West Colona, all the rest are taking
the primarily by road, obviously, some people walk and some people ride their bikes.
Transit trips, at some moment, are one percent, and of course we have to invest in transit
in order to try to improve that a little bit. The objective with transit, if we
realize all our goals through the bus driver transit project and so on and so forth is to get that
one percent at some point in time to 5 percent and just a rough comparison in terms of costs
between what we spend on transit and what we spend on roads now that we have basically
a fully developed road system and not system but a road service in the district of
Lescalona just based on the numbers that are here in front of us not including the half
of the cost that BC transit pays and the subsidy that we're putting into transit from strategic
gas tax funds that could use for other purposes if they weren't going to transit, transit sucks
up. Out of the total transportation budget, if you look at the cost of roads in the cost of
transit, transit sucks up 23% of our dollars and the other 77% goes into roads. So for 1% of
trips, we use 23% of our budget. And as I really can see, when you look at the tender
financial plan, these costs aren't going down, they're going up, and they're going up quite
dramatically over time. So I just think it's really important for us to realize that, you
know, it's to provide a transit service in a small municipality with a very large geography,
with a small population is a very expensive undertaking and we just have to be really
really careful about where we go with this service, where we're at with it and where we
go with this service. Very interesting. Councillor Winsfield. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Yeah, part
two to that dissertation. Councillor Olfus is absolutely right and we're looking down the
did scary in terms of the kinds of costs we are going to incur to provide what essentially is
a social service in a difficult area, geographically, to serve. And it would be interesting
looking at our budget figures. I'm assuming that they're broken out or separated in this document
for a reason. I was a little bit puzzled about why we would see transit system operation
and then community boss, and then further down,
we would see Andy Dart.
But only things are broken out separately.
And I'm assuming that that's because they're
operated differently.
Is that correct?
In other words, we couldn't just put
transit operation here at Azure Wine.
And that's the money and money out kind of thing.
I can answer the question in a moment.
It would be interesting for the discussion
of the shared cost of transit to see what sort of cost
recovery, there is in community box and in handy duct because of the service they provide
it, but they do provide rather as opposed to the transit system. So there's a little editorial
comment and perhaps, of course, can you like me a little bit?
Through the Russia, it is correct. They do operate all three systems separately. I believe
that they have separate providers, even in some cases for these systems. So we are both separately
for each one of these items and the controls for is different for each one of these items as well
as far as, you know, what we can request of transit and what they can request of us under the
AOAs for each and we do sign separate AOAs as well for each one of these.
So, I guess what I'm asking is could we get as a council an indication of the
services. In other words, we know how much bus there is bringing in as a percentage of the total operating cost.
Could we do the same thing for community bus and any dark, perhaps to show that they haven't increased value.
You agreed that way?
I think that that information.
Councillor Nulls.
Thank you, Roger.
Well, I sure appreciate Councillor Oofus's dissertation there.
It's really, obviously, in my mind that we need to increase that 1%, that's totally ridiculous.
In this society and trying to be environmentally conscious and only 1% right, great transit,
that's totally ridiculous in my book, and I believe Council should be working very hard
to increase that percentage.
I
would just like to add one of the things about transit in terms of the costs and we know
what is important to people in our community and we do provide a good level of basic
service for community our size and I expect our service to be in fact improved with bus
route to transit, the point A to B to C in a very timely manner, there is one additional
cost that's not factored in there, and it's been the very early stages, and that's a transit
garage. The current facility in Kalone cannot stay in the long term, or even the medium term,
where it is. It's going to be an additional cost to all of all of the members of Kalone
regional transit, which includes us to basically acquire a built and operate a new facility. It will
be inclined because that's central to the whole system.
The figures we've seen so far, no doubt will come down.
The early figures we've seen are quite scary $40 million, which is a lot of money even
for the region to absorb and our share of that would be 20-25 percent of that.
That's a pretty big hit on West Cologne.
So all the more reason to keep a very, very close eye on this service both here and what
goes on throughout the clone of region and through the STPCO.
It's a pretty, pretty scary service, cost-wise going forward.
I know people rely on it and we do our very best to accommodate those people and
the room changes in frequency and the BRT, but we cannot be in a position where this goes faster
than all of the other things that we need to do in the district to less clone.
I think Mr. Miller, in order for a council to gain a, I guess, a clear understanding of
these costs, can we get a breakdown from VC transit on these numbers?
Like 1.6 for 1.6 million plus, can we get a line by line breakdown?
Is it too? How those costs? How they total?
I appreciate that.
Thank you.
So, we've talked about transit.
All right.
That you didn't think we were going to talk about it there.
It's like this.
Okay, we're on to our cemetery.
So, if they could increase some dollars, again, in the cemetery,
this is the one that I mentioned earlier.
We need to talk about the fact that we'd be some quart sales now.
Of course, this one is completely user-free funded.
There is no tax implications whatsoever to this.
So, all of the expenses you see there are directly in relation to what we're expecting to recover in the sales.
We're expecting the just as an added note, the asymmetry by-law will be coming forward shortly as well atlining all the setting off the fees and charges, et cetera, for the sale of that service.
Page 29,
everything in between that,
building in licenses, so this one is directly related
again to the reorganization. There's a 9.3% D, or 9.13% decrease and this is directly related
to the reorganization and the elimination of some positions.
And the next one, let's talk about the library.
So there's a 9.02% increase in the library
position as a director as a result of the requisition from the library.
I'm sorry who's that and is going to plead guilty on this one.
Thank you.
Worship.
I feel I have to speak to that one because as the rest of Council, I presume, knows at this point in time,
is that the library organization took the recommendation from from this Council about our own affairs.
and used the proper count, the real number of people that live in our community, as opposed
to the DC Census Bureau that said we had several thousand less people than the current census,
so that we did. So this was sort of a one-time adjustment, and I see the figures for the next few years
estimated at about 2.75 to 0.8 percent, which is since the library does not have a 10-year
budget. This is actually very interesting. What had happened as a result is that we are
still getting good service from the library. This year they conducted a financial allocation
model analysis, which is currently known as the value for money, basically a service review.
And the first of its kinds to my knowledge that's been done in any library organization
in this province, and it showed that, yes, there were certain communities that were getting
just about what they put in, and getting that return in services to the community.
Unfortunately, for me, as chair, it was difficult to accept that our own community, according to that study, was underserved.
That study was a financial snapshot a moment in time.
It was at the point where the West Bank first nation came into the library agreement.
and money has been put in, but not allocated, it was before we have a new chief executive officer
for the Oakland Regional Library who was there at the conclusion of the study and has been
urged by all member communities in the organization to look at the results of this allocation
services model analysis and to make the corrections where appropriate. And that process is
already in order in West Clona underway and I expect to report back on that within the next six
months as to where we're going with that. So this was a one-time major catch-up and it's
because number one we have more people and number two that our assessments had increases the
previous time that they were recorded. And according to the legislation, the levy is determined
50% on financial assessment values and 50% on population.
Thank you.
Appreciate the difficult position you're in.
Councilor Orfus.
Thank you.
I thought you had Councilor Wilson on their head.
I got him after you.
Oh, after?
You'll soften them up.
Maybe.
Maybe not.
Well, thank you.
I appreciate everything that Councilor Zann in the set.
I really appreciate her leadership.
but as I represent it on the library board and as chair of the library board,
because I can tell you having had a bit of experience with working with these
buff balance sheet organizations, if you want to call them that,
that you know, trying to get in there and exert a certain point of view,
particularly responsible point of view is difficult to next to them possible sometimes.
And I think that it's been a very difficult struggle to get this message across sometimes.
Thank you.
Take a couple of points. When we look at this budget, this financial plan, almost invariably, the divisions, if you want
to call them not, that we struggle with the most, are ones that we do not have direct control over with.
So the ones that you see were costs are quite frankly out of control, like some of them are,
tend to be for the most part, ones where there is no direct accountability.
We cannot tell BC transit how much is going to cost to provide transit. They tell how much,
I've tell us how much we're going to pay really difficult.
We can't tell the RCMP how much it's going to cost or how much we're going to pay.
They tell us how much it's going to cost.
It's hard to tell the library how much we're going to pay.
They tell us how much it's going to cost.
I think that's a really important point because I just want to make it clear that
So we are going to exert our will on some of these things as a council, but it takes a
whole lot more time than it does in services where we have direct responsibility.
And maybe I raised this this year because I'm just crablier than I ever have been about
this whole continuous exhalation in costs from some of these organizations, or maybe because
2014 is an election year, I don't know, one or the other.
But, you know, it's, we have to just keep pushing on this string with some of these organizations.
The, in the library, a requisition, for example, if you look over the 10-year financial plan,
really happy that the staff has extracted these numbers, don't know how they did.
But, the library costs are expected to increase by 31% over the next 10 years.
No, they can't increase by 31% over the next 10 years. They just cannot.
Because we are under continuous pressure regularly sold from our citizens, from our constituents,
to provide more services and in order to provide more services, the existing ones that you have that you provide,
as they're spread over a bigger tax base and a bigger population base, have to cost less, not more,
because otherwise you can't improve the level of service that you provided in the community.
So that's my only message and good luck with it, Councilor Zanne, no, no, 31% over the next two,
over the next 10 years from the Oconog and Regional Library. We can't afford it.
We have other speakers, and then Councilor Zanne gets to wrap up on this one.
So I'm going to listen then myself. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Yeah, I agree 100% with Council Office
to start to say, and you're a goddess of how the increase occurred from, from last year
to 2014, the increase in the yearly tax requisition equals about 1.1% of tax increase
to our taxpayers.
And what that does unfortunately, it could strain the financial ability for us to increase
our own service levels services delivered from the district.
So it's quite a meaningful impact on our budgeting.
You like the pile on this and in terms of the organizations and I'm on one on the board of one, too.
The Hokenog and Basin Water Board and I put out that all of these organizations that we are concerned about in
Some of them are delivered by delivered differently, like the RCMP and transit, but library,
SAO, will be WB, and I include that as one we should be concerned about over the long term.
They are single focus, the people that get on those boards are passionate, and they're almost
missionary for those services to get things done, and the problem with that is that there's no process
in place except here at a council table to scale those priorities against one another.
There are all the boards of these things are all single focused and consequently you get people who want to get something done and something they're passionate about and it's not really compared to anything else.
I must put in a commercial for OBWB in certainly the last couple of years they've lived within the existing framework.
and this, this percent, there's no, this year, no increase in, in, uh, uh, reposition overall.
So, counselors and I wanted to, you know, but, and then we can take very-
Well, not really, we should, I would just say that, uh, no, I agree with many things that have been said,
and I think, uh, most of, uh, the library board would concur, and that's why we initiated the study,
this year, but just like to say in reporting facts, we don't have a 10-year budget at
the library.
They were four runners in creating the sort of budget, but I will tell you that if we
took our first six years under consideration our first five years and had gone as protective
we would have had a 50% rise in taxes over that period of time at 5% per year in compounding.
And of course, now we've kept it at just under three.
So that's about the same number.
That is not a justification.
The point is the overall library increased this year
with all of the total board was 1.2.4%
and it's because of particular circumstances in time
that we had this large increase.
And I just wanted to draw everybody's attention
to an article that I just came across this morning.
We turned on investment that turned on Tonyans, received $5 and 63 cents of value for every dollar invested in their library.
Study was the first of its kind in Canada and done by the Rodman School of Management at the University of Toronto.
So I have passed this information on to the library board, and I'm interested to see what kind of a response that I might get on that.
All I can assure you is that we're on it, we're looking at it, and all of the member constituent 26 cities towns and first nations reserve that involve all interested in containing costs while delivering goods.
Thank you. I was going to suggest that we move on to a break, but I've been advised we have four more bullets on this page, and then we can wrap this section.
So please go ahead and we'll sit for a minute or two longer.
And some of them are very quick.
So economic development on page 32 is a decrease,
but that's simply related to a carry forward amount.
We haven't done our carry forwards.
So you don't have a position in the additional
for economic development.
We're just carrying forward amount.
We haven't done that yet.
Facilities, the 155% of the facilities is related
to mostly wages, within that one.
And that one is the related to some temporary coverage
that we had approved in our years.
And this is the first full year of that coverage.
So that's the big one.
There's a specific about what that is.
So there was previously an FTE that had never been filled,
that was for allocated, and we just recently started using that
for coverage over time coverage within that.
So it's over time and a variety of places.
In a variety of places, within the facilities department.
That's probably the largest increase there.
Over the long parks,
parks is at 3.68.
This is directly related to the students that were approved in the Faria budget.
So they went into that number and they went in that number last year.
Finally, interesting debt, which is down significantly, and that's related to the expiry of the period of private building debt.
There was some short term for private building debt that expired, and it's complete, so it's down 9.6%.
Councillor Orfus, and then Winsby.
Thank you.
I just want to make a comment about this because we've started having some discussions
about district hall.
And I just want to point out that this is a touch on this to an extent.
But in 2016, we'll have made our last payments for $410,000,
approximately on money we borrowed for purchase of West Bank Town Center Park,
and on the land for the RCMP building.
And so both those final payments will be made in 2015 or 2016, and we've started to budget
now in the capital plan with the expectation of a new civic center starting in 2017.
So, and that's just a little bit over 500,000.
So, just sort of people out there know that, you know, we're watching the amount of money that
we're borrowing, and that's a very important consideration in the plans moving forward.
and if they move forward or when they move forward on a new civic center?
Councillor Winzby.
Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
I can probably answer this question myself, but bouncing back to recreation, which we
had witnessed with respect to the West Bank Lions Hall and the very unfortunate situation
there.
I'm gathering that there is no budget implication for us with the restoration of that building.
And the operation of the program, so I know the spin-discussable beyond this table,
but I'm assuming that things will proceed and the lines will after the rebuilding,
or they're fixing up, and that all the programs will be in place without any impact on our budget.
Through your worship, that is correct. We've also reflected in the budget, the partial reduction in the boys and girls'
club, the payment related to the current facility with the anticipation that they will be moving back in.
At some point, it's also reflected in.
In my understanding about the Lions Hall is that they feel they were fully insured to basically put the building as it was.
They are applying potentially for some grants related to better handicapped accessibility and we may be asked to provide letters or for that when that comes.
And of course they do have a fairly awesome fundraising capacity and lots of offers if they want to do that.
So I'd be surprised if there was a ever-nask from the District of Westglone and they've been pretty clear about that since the day of that senders went up.
So that's this section.
That covers this section.
The only other two pieces I should quickly add that's in here is the operating related to the water and sewer.
Of course, the water and sewer are completely recovered by user fees and there is reports coming forward to council.
Related to the waterfront master plan and the sewer master plan which will affect those rates.
So, the discussion here would be limited-based waiting for those reports.
Okay, we don't need a motion on this section.
I gather it.
It comes with the main motion and the light is the first reading.
Let's break for five minutes.
Ms. Gauss, who's going to present the operating requests to the 2014 budget.
So these are the 2014 supplemental operating budget requests.
These are the additional line items that we are requesting for the 2014 budget.
Some of them, there's one of them that's going to actually
one time request and the rest of them on going.
So we'll be in the budget continuing forward.
I will just read down the list.
If you have any comments, please start me.
The first is the cemetery operations.
It's really important to note that one is a page 57, the under the web tab in your
finders.
It's important to note that any increase in the cemetery operations again is related to
the user fees collected through the cemetery.
So that's that one.
The next two are parts requests.
One of Streetsgate's enhancements, one of his bullfight maintenance related to the additional capital projects.
There was a report that had been bought forward previously by Mr. Mueller and the operations department regarding the increase in parks and capital projects that require additional maintenance.
And these two items are specifically related to actually the third one is as well, the true following contract.
Again, the next one is another one that's related to the same thing, the security contract, additional funding.
Find it?
That's an increase and you mentioned in the attachment.
It's by and large, Richard Park.
That's correct.
So to keep an eye on things that do the, what is the Commissioner?
I guess.
The Commissioner is that's correct.
As well, we're talking to the RCMP.
That's correct.
Okay, so we're putting a fair bit more on resources.
and to keep you in our own things, sir. Thank you.
Okay. The next one is corporate services for radio advertising. This is our only one time
cost or reported in BOT for a decouncil previously regarding this. And this was the request
to do a one time radio advertising this year and to judge the benefit of that on an ongoing
basis, but the request is for this one year only. The next two are drainage. As we get into
of our operations, we realized that we had significant issues with drainage around the district.
And these two items are to deal with some of the emergency work related to drainage.
The operations roads is, as I mentioned earlier, go ahead.
Councillor Dow.
Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
I just was wondering if we could get a brief update as well,
where we are regarding the problems and cost recovery.
for some of the conditions of the roads that we inherited.
Mr. Jones?
I thank you.
As Council will recall, at UBCM this year, there was a commitment that by October 31st,
we would have agreement.
At this time, we're still working out those details.
I'd most recently been in contract with Mr. Tecano.
And Mr. Mueller who's shepherding this for us. There's a commitment that we'd be looking to get that agreed by January 31st.
So my whole business, that is the case, and certainly there is a meeting of coming with the MLA.
We're council can share that update and ensure that the prominence remains on that.
And in terms of getting what council has looked for, based on that original motion that you did in January 2013.
So just in the road as I had previously mentioned under the operating budget, this is a line item that staff are requesting regarding ditching and dealing with ditching within the district.
This is one line item that we recognize this year and there will be more line items likely as we go forward and refine our budgeting process and determine the level of work that needs to be done.
So, the next one I should probably spend a few minutes talking about, the next one is the
JB Mac increase in the management contract.
So, over the last few years, JB Mac has been experiencing some losses and as staff,
we've worked closely with the management to attempt to mitigate these losses and to increase
advertising and assist them with anything that we could do to increase patronage at
cool.
So last year, rather than reducing the budget significantly, we increased the advertising
budget and did our first scale of a sale that advertising to try and increase the attendance
that hasn't been we've seen some limited success with that, unfortunately.
And so this year when we sat down with the management of JDAC, we realized that there was not going to be a significant increase when we're not going to meet the revenues in future years that we have projected.
So this increase here, there's 64,515 really represents a reduction of the amount of revenues that we're expecting in that facility, and that will be ongoing.
My comment, yeah, this is a very important facility, and we hear from people who use it from time to time, and it's important for the health of people, I wish I had time to go there and on a regular basis, it strikes me though there were faced with an ongoing slippery slope here.
I'm not sure of what the factors are.
We can speculate that if they just can't compete with the H2O Center,
I suspect that that is a lot to do with it,
but because there's so much at H2O,
you know, it's a Disney land of Sourine Kools,
that particularly families go over there.
It's a big attraction.
I know my son from Grand Forks actually comes to Colorado.
He used the H2O from time to time with his kids.
flood economy, more and more people feeling pressures, can they, you know, the first kind
of thing, and you know, though, is how you spend your leisure dollar.
And then I wonder if demographics are at play here, as we say, let's say we have more and
more snowbirds, and we've certainly seen other things that go on in our society impacted
by less and less of the retired people around during the winter when that would be the prime
time to use this. So I'm very concerned we're on an ongoing kind of slippery slope here, right
now we're doing rescue missions, patch up, and hopefully those will work out, but at some
point I think we're going to have to take a real good hard look at this. Not to close it, but
can it be sustained in the present way that it's operated?
Councillor Winsby. I think it is to
I'm just wondering, remember, I'm assuming here that there's virtually no wiggle room as far as
fees are concerned, that it in comparison, given that there is the competitive situation.
Well, is there wiggle room and what percentage of this proposed increase in the management
fee? Is it of growth revenues? Mr. Jones.
Your response suggests, in terms of this, is a detailed report from staff to come back to council
in terms of the revenues and what that impact may be on attendance and how they're operated
are actually in attendance as well to answer some of these specific questions of council.
So I'll make note of that and we'll bring that forward in its totality.
I think it'd be helpful.
I think it would be because it does have an impact on a budgeting process where we are in terms
of our ability to get money in the door as opposed to letting it go.
And that is a report, not necessarily for this budget, but as a longer term discussion,
And we're probably going to have to bite the bullet here this year.
Councillor Dionne and Councillor Sanne.
Thank you, Mr. Mayor, and I take comfort in the fact that we're going to be looking
at a report and be quite interested to see it.
This is an important facility for the district, and many people still do use it, but a disturbing
trend in trend nonetheless.
My question, I would like to regard to the dollar value here.
Budget amount is just over 64,000 been at loss in 2012 and apparently 2013.
is expected to be similar to just over 38,000.
So we're looking at the net loss of 38,000,
and an increase of ask of 64,000,
why the difference?
Well, three of Russia, the biggest difference there is
the operator has worked very hard to contain costs
in this time and during these losses
and they are extremely concerned about the fact
that we have to continue to bring back the costs.
And unfortunately, I think that they have done cost containment to the point that it's not sustainable.
And so, the extra amount really represents the expenditures that they should be making on an annual basis.
And right now, we're choosing not to reduce the amount of loss that the district refunds them for.
But I will tell you that comes generally speaking at the expense of wage increases for their staff.
Councillor Jenner?
Yes, you wish.
Since a report has been mentioned here, I'd like serve a comprehensive update on the
capital expenditures as well, because we have spent a lot of money already upgrading this
pool.
And I see that in the capital requests is over the base for 2014 is already over $200,000
there.
So I think we have to put the two things together, both the capital and the operating
have a good long-term look at where we're going with this and and trying to make it, you know,
as up-to-date and convenient and less of a burden as we can do using our expertise and our staff
and the knowledge that we have. So I'm not sure if we need an extra motion on that right now,
you worship her. Mr. Johnson committed to ensuring there was a report by Ford,
and asking for a motion and he's been taking notes of the nature of that report. I'm sure
Ms. Galls is assuming you're going to be involved in doing financial report and I know you have
sharp pencils.
Councillor Oofus. Thank you.
I'm just a further to the issue of a report on this facility. Great idea.
But I'm wondering whether or not it's possible for us to look at some efficiency measures of some kind
it possible to get some comparable figures for other similar facilities, what they cost, how
they're operated and so on, because we're really interesting to see, you know, maybe we're
just flat out, to be kidding ourselves that you can't operate it, so like this for what we've
been trying to operate it for and, and you know, at the end of the day, if it's a valuable
service and we provide the service for five bucks on visit in the next Jeep to stop
the whole world is aid. I mean I think we know that we've got a bit of an issue whether we like
the tax increase or not. So I think some efficiency measures and comparisons to other similar
facilities. And maybe some analysis of the competitive environment would be a good idea if we
can get a hold of that. I'm not sure when this report is going to come forward if it's going to be in
time for the budget process or not. So that was pretty true. Yeah, okay. So the sub-mind it's way into
into the operational plan for some time later in 2014, excellent.
So we have to deal with this for at least on a one-time basis.
Now, who's good?
I think it's important to know that, you know, staff have worked,
and staff on the district side have spent the last two years working diligently to try and
get us to the point where we thought that we could really justify and increase the council.
We wanted to make sure that the losses that were being experienced weren't one-off losses that they weren't losses that could be compensated by a ton of extra advertising that they weren't
And we've really gotten to the point where we are unable to say that we can continue as we are without reducing our revenue productions.
I think Council realizes that.
Hence the report.
Yeah.
Thank you.
Next.
Okay.
So, the next one is recreation stage rentals, and that was as a result of the recommendation on a report that came forward to council that we rent a stage as opposed to building or purchasing a stage.
The next two, by law enforcement.
Councillor Dion has a question on that.
Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
So, our question to curiosity.
I'm just curious.
We have seen different pictures of different stages from staff in the past.
I'm thrilled that we're going to get a rental stage for music in the park and the West Side
Day's events and everything.
I'm just going to curious what are we getting for $2,200 a pop kind of idea.
Three worship.
The stage as being proposed is when some of that you've seen in the past where it's kind
of a trailer type device that basically opens up and it'll have a roof and everything else
on top of it.
Cool.
So this roof.
Come on.
Yeah.
And let's see, Balaan first, Narsha's past and Narsha's red control, of course, as a result
of the services that have been taken over by the district, from the regional district.
And the last one is the utilities, and this is a request that's come forward as we also,
So, part and parcel, I suppose, with the roads contract and some of the issues that have
been highlighted, but it's to deal with the utility side of that, of the ditching and the
issues that arise out of that.
Thank you.
I don't see anything.
I think that these ones have to be approved.
You would like a motion for the supplementary and supplemental operating request?
Yes.
Councilor Olfys, Councilor Nelson, seconded in for their discussion all in favour.
What was the opinion carried?
Mr. Johnson.
I just know the reason that we ask Council to make those motions is we can follow a lot
bad as they're completed.
They come off the motion list, so they're tracked by Council Council against the opportunity
to see when they back enacted.
No, and that's good, because we've been doing that for every section except the overall
operating budget which we cover off at the end.
where these are incorporated into that. So capital budget by division I assume.
That's where we're at capital budget by division. So a couple of things here just quickly to review.
We talked previously. I mentioned in December when I stood before you about base versus value added.
And as you can see over our forms have been done with a base and a value added.
The base of what staff are suggesting we need to continue operations at the district and to do the work that we need to do.
Some of it's resulted from risk and safety.
Value added is really items that have been brought forward,
that represent increases or improvements to amenities,
roads, services for the citizens of West Carolina.
Okay, so we're going to start with under the first half of the words.
And we're going to start with that one.
So just to highlight, a couple of the big ones, previously we discussed, there's the road we have program,
which we were planning on supplementing with the work or the in-kind service to be provided from the ministry when that decision comes to a finalization.
This Mr. Johnson has mentioned.
We have 140,000 towards our pedestrian improvement program,
which shows our side rock program.
We have two large projects,
which we've previously presented to Council
and thought forward a discussion regarding phasing
each of these projects.
So that's the Galatry and the West Lake Road.
You can see them in the value added column.
The 25 and the 45 related to the Shannon Lake Road,
that's actually designed on a roundabout.
That was a promise that was made to a developer,
so that the Constitute will see the construction for that in 2015.
That's why we've added it today,
because we should be doing this based on promises made to the developer.
Further down, there is three traffic calming designs.
There's traffic calming for developers,
Richard and Casalana for 60,000. And then there's the construction of the two traffic
coming initiatives from the studies that were done in 2013, first with Creek and so
fishery. The bridge maintenance for 180,000, this is a as a result of the risk assessment report
that had come forward previously again to Council. This is 180,000 dollars worth of work.
And family, there's low assessment, which is the Rock Face Maintenance, also mentioned a council in a prior last week, actually.
We're going to see some risk work that needs to be done around some of our rock faces.
Maybe third-day on.
Thank you, Your Worship. First, I'm going to talk about the traffic calming in the different neighborhoods.
Once again, I see in here traffic cushions, I know, as a group.
But...
The council has decided that we're going to move forward with traffic cushions. I'm going to use this as an opportunity to once again say, I don't think we should be using traffic cushions. I think if we're going to put a speed bump in there, it should be a speed bump that put those roll gaps in there is a waste in the emergency service vehicle axle width. There's no different than another similar size truck. And I don't see the value in having a bunch of gaps on there. So I'm not in favor of speed cushions in general. So we're going to let that go. Let me clarify one thing.
I mean, I said, but I'm assuming the cost is differences, not that large, and that each of
these items, traffic calming, each one of these initiatives will come back before Council
for a discussion based on the design.
Yes, your worship, just as similar as the other ones previously have.
Wonderful.
So we only did deal with today in the end of that level.
But if you have another question,
they're not in order to track the questions.
Are we going to be discussing today?
They go at the West Lake Road improvements,
and which one was my question,
too, to clarify them that this,
with the exception of the Galilee versus West Lake,
this is pretty firm.
But we do have to make a decision on gladly or a West Lake.
Is that correct?
Through you, Richard.
We as staff have recommended and in back you'll see that there is a 10-year capital plan.
In the 10-year capital plan, we've got what we recommend.
As staff, we recommend that the West Lake road be completed in whole this year.
However, we have put the phased costs for each and here, which gives Council a chance to adjust that
neither create due different phases or the total amount of that we were looking to spend
wasn't going to exceed the total of, obviously, the West Lake project.
So just to clarify that, and we should probably have a motion to approve this section.
Capital Request, but we,
the other thing you accept a lot of the West Lake is firm,
and our motion should also,
maybe it's a separate motion to determine
whether it's West Lake or a Galilee.
That's true.
If I had a process going ahead here.
Okay, Councillor Nelson.
Mr. Robertson suggests that
in page 162, 163, 164,
there's a listing of core and value added
side have been suggested that we, I guess, consider fully for the budget and concluded in
that it is the all the phases of West Lake Road.
I think it's an excellent report and last we can use this to make our motion space for
motion time.
I'd be more pleased to move the capital items for a road as presented on pages 162 to 164,
And that includes the west, west, west, west, west, west, all on the basis.
That's correct.
Will that do the trick for you?
That will.
Okay.
Well, thank you for the leadership on that.
And we'll do a go back to council.
Winds me then.
Yeah, thank you.
I was very angry with that council.
I'm also on the other side.
You have about this kind of confusing.
I'm not sure whether value added is a wish list.
Whether it's something that we're definitely going to do.
So I think if we, now, are we going to run this further on?
a similar kind of thing, or can we go to the appropriate section and deal with this girl's
gonna answer your question?
I think the road is really the only one where we gave you an option. In the rest of the
sections we've identified them as base and value added. However, we concluded all of the items
in our 10-year capital plan for a complication. At that point, you could remove some of the
value added items if you'd like, but roads is really the only one where we've given you the
option of adding one major project or the other one, although we are recommending the one.
I have a concert office.
I'm just saying.
I wrote a move in.
What is the motion we have?
We're not there on it.
Sorry, the capital request.
We approve the capital request as per roads.
That's for page 162.
Let's see for you the 164.
One, two, one.
Right to the slope assessment.
Rock face maintenance.
Something like that.
So it's all in the, you know, 2014 column.
Those three.
Right. Okay.
Thank you.
And I'll just check.
Let's go.
If that works for you.
You're clear.
Can we maybe if it would be easier if we moved.
The roads projects less.
the Galatley. So let's see 2014-3 and C- 2014-4 that's on the road's page.
That's on the actual tabs as opposed to the 10-year.
It's not in 2014, let's say.
It's on the under-each tab where there's the backup. You can see the front page.
But we can move the
way we can move it that way that it is over the 10-year.
Yeah, that's okay. Okay, and that's 163 to 162 to 164. Yes. Okay, and then it's it's in there for a future year.
That's good. We should always be amended. Yeah. Yeah.
Galabi. Yeah. Well, I was just moving the capital budget request for 2014. Yeah.
That's okay, so Councillor Nelson is moving the capital budget request on page 162 to 164 as low as the line for 2014.
For roads for roads.
Okay, we've got that.
Is that clear as mud?
That worked for you?
Any further discussion on that?
Councillor Sam.
So, the last week is about $6 million, the total of the Galatley is about $5 million.
There's two phases of Galatley there, it's about $5 million.
The Galilee project is not only the waterfront section, but it's also going up Galilee towards
Whit McDonald's in most creek work and potentially around about as well.
That's fair.
And you were such a great speaker on that trip.
I think we used to have the local reason on that trip.
Are you on it?
But we're going to do it.
But that may not be true for when you have another look at Galilee.
It may still be worth for Galilee.
because the nature of the geography there to phase them.
Okay, so all in favor of Councillor Milson's motion,
it's a pose of any carried, so that gets built here.
And that I think feels with your Ms. Cat, Ms. Garros,
hang on a sec, we'll confer here and Mr. Johnson through.
So, there's that deal effectively with your 2014 roads.
How's it going?
That's right.
Excellent.
It's probably right along here then.
It's a storm drainage.
Big.