2021 Budget

Thank you for your comments. To respond to your concerns relative to utility costs, the District identified the need to incrementally raise utility fees each year to offset major spikes in costs when the time comes for the unavoidable time for replacement. West Vancouver’s utility infrastructure was all built within a decade, the unavoidable end-of-life for these systems will also occur close together. Metro Vancouver’s regional utility services are added to this unavoidable cost, including the North Shore Wastewater Treatment plant currently under construction.

With respect to the proposed 13 new positions, the municipality is a service organization, and staff deliver those services. Staff are committed to efficiency and accountability.

When developing the proposed budget, staff essentially conducted a core services review by going through the budget line-by-line. The resulting $750,000 in savings that was identified is reflected in the 2021 operational budget. This commitment to keeping costs down and innovating service delivery resulted in the lowest operational increases since 2014.

This year, in order to maintain the District’s core services, and accomplish Council’s Strategic Priorities, staff are recommending the addition of 13 new permanent positions. Five of these positions are revenue-neutral, which means they will generate savings or revenues to offset their salaries. 

We hope this information somewhat addresses your concerns, which will be shared with Council.

The total amount paid toward salaries in a given year is available in that year’s Annual Report. However, there is more than one definition of salary in the labour model, and the previous response was intended to explain why a simple average calculation is not available. Staff would need to isolate the actual salary paid from the labour model, and, as previously explained, would constitute a research project, which we do not have the resources to address.

The District’s operational costs have not gone up three times the cost of inflation.

The historical rate of inflation is based on reports from International Monetary Fund. Depending on the time period, the average is around 2.35%. The consumer price index, commonly referred to as “inflation” by consumers, was unusually low in 2020 due to Covid. CPI calculation takes into account the cost of typical household items (groceries, residential rent, public transport, etc.). District’s costs represent a completely different subset of expenditures, including infrastructure upkeep & maintenance, staff salaries, fleet maintenance etc.

Furthermore, the important point is not the total number of expenses. Rather, the point is what is paid for by taxation. The District always pursues alternate sources of revenue, including grants. This request constitutes a research project, which we do not have the resources to address.

The information you have requested is not directly relevant to the 2021 proposed budget, and it would take a significant amount of staff time to prepare a response to the questions you have asked. It is a research project, and we do not have the capacity to do it, and so staff are unable to provide the information you have requested. Staff are currently working on a number of initiatives that must take priority.

As stated in the Five-Year Financial Plan 2020 document, the Parks, Culture & Community Services (PCCS) Division was affected the most by the reduction in revenues and implemented more cuts than any other District division as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, the average staffing compliment for PCCS, including permanent full-time, permanent part-time, temporary and casual staff is approximately 750. To function during COVID in 2020, PCCS had to initially lay off 411 staff. As our facilities have been able to slowly reopen under COVID-19 protocols,  some of these staff have returned and are included in the 2021 proposed budget.  

The 2021 proposed PCCS budget includes the following staff compliment:

• Parks Department – Includes the full compliment of 37 full-time staff and also includes 23 seasonal temporary staff who were not hired in 2020 due to budget constraints related to COVID. In the proposed 2021 base budget, staffing levels have been returned to pre-COVID levels. 
• Cultural Services Department – Includes only 4 of the full-time compliment of 12 staff. 
• Community Services Department – The full compliment of permanent full-time and permanent part-time staff is 81. With the resumption of services complying with Provincial Health Orders, some staff have been able to return. However, there are 15 permanent staff and 79 temporary staff (e.g. lifeguards) who are not included in the 2021 budget. These staff have been without work with the District for almost a year and many are hopeful to return. In addition, there are many casual staff (e.g. program instructors) who have not been rehired as a result of programs that are unable to run due to Public Health Orders.

The compensation reported in the Financial Information Act and the budget request for an FTE represent two different things. The Financial Information Report indicates what someone earned in that position in 2019, but does not include “fringe” costs associated with the position. The “fringe” costs include, in addition to benefits, the employer portion of employment insurance, the employer health tax, and the specific equipment allocated to the role (e.g., workstation, telephone, computer, uniform, safety equipment, etc.). The average “fringe” cost for union employees is 26.9%. of the budgeted salary. The amount shown in the 2021 budget includes the salary and also all the fringe costs associated with the position.

Thank you for your comments. Council will review and provide an update on their Strategic Plan and the specific goals and objectives outlined in that plan, in the spring.

Thank you for your comments. We understand your concerns and value your opinion. Municipal budgets aim to address multiple priorities, reflecting the objectives of thousands of residents, represented by their elected officials. Most, if not all, budgets cause debates and potential concerns regarding the allocation of limited municipal resources. The 2020 and 2021 budgets are especially difficult, given that current economic environment that you have addressed in your letter. 

As you know, the 2021 Budget has not been adopted yet and will be further discussed and reviewed by Council. The proposed operation increase of 1.48% is one of the lowest for the Lower Mainland municipalities. The increase of the Asset Levy, also proposed as a part of the 2021 Budget, reflects the concern for the maintenance and development of Capital Assets – an issue that the District of West Vancouver has in common with all Canadian municipalities dealing with the aging infrastructure. Most of these costs are not driven by the population growth (or lack thereof) – they are caused by the fact that many municipal assets are coming close to the end of their useful life and have to be replaced irrespective of the increase/decrease in population.

To respond to your suggestion to cut salaries, the District of West Vancouver is constrained by the collective agreements in place with several bargaining units. Salaries for each position covered by these agreements are set by the agreement, and cannot be changed. These agreements are standard across the Lower Mainland, and in many cases are contractually tied together through what is called ‘me too’ clauses. 

The 2021 budget includes 13 new FTEs, not 21. Municipal services are delivered by people, and those people must have specific skill sets. The District of West Vancouver is a very lean organization, too lean, if we are to continue delivering core services and advancing Council’s Strategic Plan. 

In many of its operations, the municipality is subject to a number of obligations and restrictions that do not apply to private businesses, and the budget reflects those requirements. Every single line item has been challenged and non-labour charges have been reduce by $750,000. All the cost reductions that are available to us under the current Covid response conditions have been made. The resulting operational increase is lower than the historical rate of inflation. Without the new staff, services will need to be cut.

Thank you for your comments. We understand your concerns and value your opinion.

Thank you for your comments. We understand your concerns and value your opinion.