Budget Process
The Community Charter requires local governments to approve a five-year Financial Plan Bylaw each year by the end of March. The Financial Plan is also referred to as the Budget. Generally, the annual budget is prepared through the following process:
- Each fall the CRD creates budgets for each of its services based on anticipated activities and priorities.
- Finance compiles all these budgets to make a draft financial plan.
- The draft financial plan is reviewed and approved by the CRD Board.
- The plan is revised based on public input and Board priorities until a final version is approved.
- The final version allows us to develop the Financial Plan Bylaw.
- The Financial Plan Bylaw must be adopted no later than March 31.
In the Financial Plan Bylaw, we set the property tax revenue we need for each service. This forms the basis for your taxation rates for the year. The CRD Board may amend the financial plan by bylaw at any time during the five-year period.
Learn more about the relationship between property assessments and property taxes, or view this helpful video provided by BC Assessment.
Budget Feedback
As part of preparing the Financial Plan, we seek out resident and stakeholder feedback on the proposed levels of spending, taxation, and methods of financing for various initiatives and services. Our budget consultation seeks to obtain feedback on the proposed changes to the budget, along with improving our understanding of resident's concerns about the budget. This feedback is then considered by the Board prior to its final decision making on the budget, and changes may be made to reflect public comments received.
Feedback collected during our budget consultation for 2024 was reviewed by the Board at its February 29, 2024 Finance-Budget Committee meeting.