Conference Update

early bird pricing ends march 31 register now

Conference Program Announced! Schedule at-a-Glance

PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS JUNE 1 • Investment & Treasury Management • Development Cost Charges

JUNE 2 • Property Tax Policy & Tax Rate Setting • Regional District Day • Asset Retirement Obligations Welcome Reception | June 2, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm GFOABC welcomes all guests to kick-off the 2020 Annual Conference at Romeo’s Kitchen + Spirits. It’s a great opportunity to network with friends old and new!

Gala Dinner | June 4, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm GFOABC delegates are invited to the Thursday night Gala Dinner held in the Coast Kamloops Ballroom. Live musical performance by Dave Coalmine Band, a 5-piece dance band with amazing vocals!

Additional Gall Dinner tickets are available for sale for $100 plus GST online before June 1 and in-person at the registration desk during the conference.

Accommodation | Reserve your hotel rooms today! Coast Kamloops Hotel DIRECT RESERVATION LINK

Conference Volunteers | Receive one-day pass to sessions! GFOABC is still looking for volunteers. VOLUNTEER APPLICATION FORM

small communities’ forum

by sheila theissen

Are you a member of a finance department in a small community (less than 15,000)? Do you regularly perform duties that are outside of the finance function? Are you often challenged to meet the reporting deadlines?

In the province of BC there are 162 incorporated municipalities, including 119 municipalities with less than 15,000 in population. Of those 119, 81 have less than 5,000 in population.

These population numbers are important in relation to policing costs, as municipalities with less than 5,000 in population don’t pay for policing costs, whereas municipalities between 5,000 and 15,000 in population pay 70% of their policing costs. This can have a significant impact on the municipality’s tax rates.

More importantly, small municipalities are required to do the same amount of financial reporting to the province and other entities as larger municipalities. The task of this reporting generally falls on the Finance Officer and their delegates in small municipalities, including reporting for items such as Climate Action Revenue Incentive Program (CARIP) etc., that are often handled by Engineering or other departments in larger municipalities.

The size of the smaller municipalities’ budgets creates many challenges. Software solutions, consultants, and, other resources can easily cost more than 1-10% of the municipality’s annual budget, leaving the Finance Officer to find other ways to perform tasks and do reporting. A Finance Officer in a small community is required to do all aspects of the financial reporting and operations making it difficult for small municipalities to find people to fill the role. GFOABC and MFABC recognize the challenges faced by small municipalities and are hosting a small communities’ forum at the 2020 GFOABC Conference in Kamloops. The goal of this session is for participants from small communities to be able to discuss their challenges and share their tools for achieving their goals. Resources available to the finance staff from other agencies will also be discussed. •