The Castlegar Recreation Commission has sent its budget recommendations to the Regional District of Central Kootenay for approval as part of the district’s budget and tax process.
The commission, consisting of representatives from the City of Castlegar, Area I and Area J, has asked for a tax increase primarily for the purpose of paying for repairs at the Castlegar Community Complex and building a reserve fund to cover future repairs to the complex and other recreation facilities.
Commission chair and City of Castlegar councillor Sue Heaton-Sherstobitoff says that while no one wants to raise taxes, the increase is necessary to make up for years of under-funding the complex.
According to Heaton-Sherstobitoff, the commission consulted with industry experts in 2020 to gather a picture of the condition of the area’s recreation facilities and seek recommendations on how to remedy the problems.
“The results of the report identified that our recreation facilities would need major capital project improvements to ensure we can continue to deliver recreation services like skating, hockey and swimming to residents,” explained Heaton-Sherstobitoff.
“The proposed strategy is to increase reserves to ensure we can afford to maintain our recreation facilities.”
That strategy includes starting a capital reserve fund with $600,000 this year and increasing that amount by $100,000 per year until 2027 when the contribution will top out and continue at $1 million per year. But projects will be paid for out of the fund, so money won’t just be accumulating.
Based on a home value of $500,000, area ratepayers can expect a tax increase of about $67 annually to cover the new capital asset management plan.
But residents can also expect to see an additional increase of around $28 to cover inflation, and increases to wages and the consumer price index in the RDCK recreation portion of their property taxes.
One big-ticket repair is beginning this spring — the replacement of the complex’s arena floor at a cost of $1.575 million.
Heaton-Sherstobitoff says the project was identified two years ago.
“Capital projects have been identified for many years, but have just been continually moved to the next year and the next because there has not been an asset reserve to pay for this work,” she said.
Heaton-Sherstobitoff also says she believes putting away reserves is fiscally responsible in the long term as it saves taxpayers money by avoiding borrowing and interest charges.
“By pushing it down the road, you are just moving the problem to future generations … when you move it down the road the issue just gets bigger, it never gets cheaper,” she added.
Area I director Andy Davidoff looks at the situation differently.
He is advocating revisiting and reducing the capital reserve fund which he considers a “rainy-day fund” contribution and exploring other ways of reducing taxation as Area I residents are looking at tax increases in a number of the RDCK services they are a part of.
“We have never had such a massive overall taxation lift in Area I in one year and it is untenable and avoidable,” said Davidoff.
He is offering to designate $250,000 of Area I’s Community Works Funds to the arena floor project — but only if Area J does the same and the City of Castlegar contributes $500,000 of its Community Works Funds.
Heaton-Sherstobitoff says that is not possible, because the city has already set and passed its budget for the year and has no unallocated funds.
She also says, “It’s not a rainy-day fund, it is an asset management reserve to fund capital projects identified in the current five-year plan and even further down the road.”
Davidoff has also suggested that the communities use newly announced provincial funding that is headed to municipalities and regional districts in the coming months.
Heaton-Sherstobitoff says it is too premature to commit those funds to any project as the city does not know how much they will be getting, when it will actually come and what kind of rules are associated with the money.
Area J director Henny Hanegraaf feels good about the new capital reserve plan.
“Nobody wants to increase taxes,” said Hanegraaf. “But at the same time, you can’t abandon a recreation facility and leave an arena without ice in it because you don’t want to increase taxes.”
She says she thinks that most residents will support the increases in order to have a viable community complex.
“I think if you asked most ratepayers, ‘Are you prepared to pay less than $10 a month toward the complex …’ I think most people would support it.
“It is a reasonable plan that was agreed to unanimously at the budget table. It’s the best way forward under difficult circumstances.”
The RDCK’s annual budget, including the recreation commission portion, will be before the district’s board of directors on March 16.
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betsy.kline@castlegarnews.com
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