UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT BYLAW NIXED: Showcase planning project quietly axed by council - 7
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Weds., March 13, 2013 www.revelstoketimesreview.com Vol. 115, No. 11
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TIMESReview
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Revelstoke’s alleways - 12
Heroes & Villains
Superman (Matt Smider, the head coach of the Revelstoke Nordic Ski Club), the Old Hag (Craig Brown, the executive director of Community Connections) and Batman (Mike Hooker, the superintendent of the Revelstoke School District) are the guest skaters in the year-end showcase by the Revelstoke Figure Skating Club on Thursday, March 14. See page 17 for more on the show. Alex Cooper/Revelstoke Times Review
Focus group: City spending not affordable, sustainable over long-term Aaron Orlando
editor@revelstoketimesreview.com
Long-term financial sustainability for the City of Revelstoke is the key concern of a budget focus group that worked alongside council on the city budget this year. A new report by the group says the city needs to take a step back from the annual budget process and take a long view on where the community is going. The report contrasts rising spending with a declining population, saying lack of affordability is the concern. Focus group spokesperson Betty Sloan participated in the current budget process. “We don’t think that the continued increase in services and increasing taxes every year is sustainable over the long term,” Sloan said in an interview with the Times Review. “So we’re saying hit the pause button here and
really look at it on a long-term basis.” The report suggests exploring financial sustainability initiatives such as one underway in Edmonton. “Partly visionary, partly policy, partly tactical, it should lead to rationalized service deliverables matched with realistic resourcing strategies and supporting tax policies, all that align with the values, objectives and realities of a changing Revelstoke,” states the report from the committee. “We seem to be in the same place every year.” Sloan said of the annual rush to meet budget deadline. It prevents a closer look at service levels and costs: “What’s an appropriate service level? What do we need to sustain infrastructure going forward?” The focus group doesn’t support the proposed 3.5 per cent tax increase this year, but want the increase pegged to an inflation index.
Spending a key worry Taxation is just one part the affordability equation, the group found. Like other communities, households in Revelstoke are saddled with debt and face rising living costs. “Continued tax increases coupled with the rise in the cost of living in Revelstoke is eroding affordability and is not sustainable,” they write. The report singles out service and program “creep” in Revelstoke over the past decade that has piled on costs. The report cites new spending for transit, the aquatic centre, the first responder service, highway rescue, planning, curbside recycling, the Grizzly Plaza extension and new IT services as examples. “We feel we need to remember that we are only 7,500 people, and we need to align our spending to reflect that reality,” they write.
“We have added, and continue to add services, staff positions … yet we don’t always see the benefit of those decisions.” The issue of tax fairness has been a central feature of the city budget process over the past few years, after commercial and industrial groups lobbied for relief. However, the group said the fairness issue is complex and the city should make reducing spending a priority over distribution of tax burden.
Proposed budget piles on more debt The proposed budget calls for $2 million in new borrowing, something the group feels is excessive. “We are leveraging our financial future
Budget focus, page 5
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