Disciplined Investment in Our Infrastructure
We've made significant investments in the infrastructure that keeps this town running. New fire halls, a public works facility, an expanded wastewater treatment plant, and more. It's the type of investment that keeps a growing town livable rather than quietly falling behind.
The work ahead must focus on keeping our foundations strong while also making room for the visible amenities our community wants and deserves. There is no easy way out of our infrastructure deficit and progress will require real trade-offs, strong fiscal discipline, and creative partnerships.
How We Might Do This:
Zero-Based Budgeting — Level set our budget by using a Zero-Based Budgeting approach. This means that instead of starting each year's budget from last year's number and adding to it, every dollar of spending has to be justified from zero. It's slower and more rigorous than the way we budget today. This level of discipline keeps spending honest and ensures your tax dollars go towards what the town actually needs — not just what has always been funded.
Update and Invest in our Asset Management Plans — The District manages $883 million in built assets and $1.6 billion in natural assets. In 2022 we developed an updated inventory of these assets and an Asset Management Plan that guides how we responsibly plan for their replacement, maintenance, acquisition and disposal. For the first time ever in 2024, we incorporated the recommendations of this Asset Management Plan into our budget and long-term financial plan. This means we are setting money aside* to replace critical infrastructure (i.e. water mains, sewer lines, roads) before it fails, instead of reacting to a costly emergency.
*2.4% of your annual tax increase goes directly to asset management reserves.
Continue to Deliver 10-year Financial Plans — Budget 2026 delivered our community’s first ever 10-year financial plan. This is a wholesale change on our budget process from my first council term when we only had visibility into the first 2 years of our financial plans. Long-term financial planning support responsible investment in our community by:
✓ Increasing transparency into our budgeting process
✓ Supporting predictable taxation
✓ Enabling more informed decision making to advancing community goals (i.e. how do short-term decisions impact our long-term objectives)
✓ Maintaining adequate reserves to fund the Capital program (see asset management planning above)
Development Cost Charges, Reviewed Every 2 Years — Development Cost Charges (DCCs) and Amenity Cost Charges (ACCs) are how we collect money from developers to ensure growth pays its share of the infrastructure it requires, rather than leaving today's taxpayers to fill the gap. The Province of BC regulates how these charges are applied, but Squamish can ensure our DCC and ACC bylaws are updated at least every 2 years so the fees collected reflect the real costs of delivering that infrastructure.
