2027 Budget

Frequently asked questions

• General questions

  • How does the District balance the budget?

  Municipalities are required by the Provincial legislation to balance their budgets, which means that all budgeted expenditures must have revenues in place to cover them.

  After looking at all other sources of revenue, the cost of providing the desired services must be balanced with a tax increase that the community can afford at any one time.

  • What is the operating budget?

  The operating budget funds the ongoing operations of assets residents and businesses use, such as streets, parks, trails and cultural and recreational programs, and provides services such as police and fire. The majority of costs are wage-related, along with operating costs for  District of West Vancouver facilities.

  West Vancouver’s challenging geography impacts the cost of essential services compared to other municipalities.

  After accounting for all other revenues, the cost of these services is funded through property taxes.

  • What is the capital budget?

  West Vancouver, like almost every municipality in Canada, has ageing infrastructure that requires a long-term plan and financial resources to repair, maintain, and replace assets. This includes everything from community centres and the Seawalk to park benches, streets, and sidewalks.

  The capital budget provides funds for maintenance and replacement of infrastructure, such as roads, District facilities, and parks and trails.

  Capital projects are prioritized by Council and outlined in their Strategic Plan. The majority of capital projects are funded by the Asset Levy.

  • What makes up the District’s budget?

  The District’s consolidated budget is made up of the individual budget of various funds. Each fund is a stand-alone business entity that engages in specific service activities and has its own particular revenues, expenditures, reserves and capital program. Each fund also has its own particular approach to budgeting and rate setting.

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  • How is the District's capital budget developed?

  Capital budgeting is a long-term planning process, aligned with the District’s asset management plan. It starts with a comprehensive review and analysis of all existing District’s capital assets, projecting maintenance and replacement costs over a 20-year period, ensuring our capital assets remain at their optimal level.

  This annual asset management groundwork forms the basis for capital budget requests.

  • What factors influence the development of the budget?

  The budget process, and the decisions that must be made on how to best lead the development of a safe, vibrant and sustainable city, are supported by the following plans:

  • Official Community Plan
  • Asset Management Plan
  • Council Strategic Plan
• Additional School Tax

  • Does the additional school tax (AST) come back into the District?

  The additional school tax is provincial tax. It goes to the Province into general revenue for school purposes. The tax is assessed on residential properties valued over $3M.

  School tax - Province of British Columbia

• Environmental Reserve

  • What type of programs can be funded by the Environment Reserve?

  The Environment Reserve is established by bylaw with specific uses for how it can be spent such as adaptation and mitigation in relation to climate change. Please refer to Environmental Reserve Fund Bylaw Part 4.1 "Use of the Fund" for eligible programs.

• Labour Costs and Staffing

  • How often does the municipality go through labour contracts?

  The District has six bargaining units on different contracts. The term of the contracts can vary from one year to three years. In general the contracts run for three years.

  • Is there a voluntary program in place where we have residents of West Vancouver coming to give their services, and would these labour costs then decrease?

  The District benefits from volunteers, with many volunteer groups contributing commendable work within the community. However, their tasks often differ from those handled by District staff, particularly in specialized areas like Finance, Planning, and Engineering. Moreover, managing volunteers necessitates additional staff effort.

  • What makes up the District labour costs?

  The District labour costs are determined by the annual labour model, which is a position driven financial model covering the base salary and fringe benefits for each position. The job duty and responsibility define the pay grid for each position.

  The fringe benefits supplement an employee's salary in addition to their normal wage. For the District, what is included in fringe benefits are provincially or federally required payments such as EI, CPP, WCB and the health tax in addition to items that are negotiated into the collective agreements such as extended medical/dental and life insurance.

• Revenue Sources

  • What are the revenue sources for the District?

  Besides property taxes, investment income and building permits are the other major sources of revenue. The District focuses on revenue generation and starting in early 2024, pay parking at three destination parks was implemented.

  • The present windfall interest revenue isn't permanent and is expected to diminish soon. When this revenue stream is no longer accessible, how do we compensate for the loss in revenue?

  Each year the District strives to achieve a structurally balanced budget that supports financial sustainability. This means that recurring revenues are used to fund recurring expenditures in the budget. The interest revenue is carefully considered based on economic outlook and strategic cash flow management to ensure that amount can be maintained for multiple years into the future.

  The difference between available revenue and expenses is then balanced by the additional property tax.

  • What's included in the "Other Revenue"?

  "Other Revenue" includes administration fees from TransLink and Utilities for recovering staff labour costs in administrating these programs, interest on investments, District facility rental and lease revenues, and tax penalties and interest.

• Utilities

  • What do utility rates fund?

  The Utilities are each funded by their own separate rates, and not by property taxes. Over 48% of the District’s utility fees are regional fees used to support the purchase of drinking water and treatment of sanitary sewerage. These services are provided by Metro Vancouver. Local costs include the District’s utility operations, infrastructure, and reserves.

  • Is the Asset Levy used for fund maintenance and replacement costs of assets under the Utility Funds?

  The assets pertaining to the Utility Funds (Water, Sewer and Solid Waste) are funded from user rates and not the Asset Levy.

• West Vancouver Transit

  • If West Vancouver did not have the Blue Bus and transit is completely under TransLink would there be an impact on these costs?

  The District manages and operates West Vancouver Transit under a contract with TransLink. TransLink covers all of the costs related to West Vancouver Transit so it does not affect the tax rate.