Did you know that providing library service for one day can cost over $100,000? Hiring and training 10 new police officers costs in the range of $1 million per year. Running a city isn’t cheap.
City planners have to factor in the costs of all services, in addition to the cost of not providing them. The City is committed to getting maximum value for every tax dollar we spend.
Some examples of what it costs to keep Vancouver going:
- To purchase one fire engine and equipment: $700,000
- To fuel City vehicles for one year: $6.64 million
- To operate a swimming pool for one year: $700,000
- To install a new traffic light: $200,000+
- For all library services per day: $100,000+
Where your money was spent last year
Vancouver’s operating budget was $1.03 billion in 2011. Of that $1.03 billion, more than half was spent on the essential services of public safety and utilities such as water, sewage and recycling. Even seemly benign areas like “Administration”, which took 9% of the budget, include vital services such as human resources, payroll, finance, city clerks and IT – city-wide support systems that make the delivery of services possible.
City Council, in consultation with the public, approved a number of strategic measures to balance the budget in 2011. This included a comprehensive review of operations designed to locate areas where the City can operate more efficiently. Revenues were increased where possible such as the move to a “user-pay” system for sewer utility cost recovery, an enhanced parking meter program and minor increases in fees and permits. With these measures, we were able to keep the property tax increase for the City of Vancouver down at 1.88%.
Going into the 2011 budget, the City faced a funding shortfall of $51.7 million as a result of factors that included a decline in development-related revenue (which remains well below normal levels) and the need to deliver services approved in previous years, such as the hiring of additional police officers.
With its commitment to keeping the overall tax levy as low as possible, City Council, in consultation with the public, approved a number of strategic measures to save the City $50 million. These included price increases in fees and permits, the shift of sewer utility fees to a user-pay system, as well as the identification of operational efficiencies through the Vancouver Services Review and a comprehensive review of operations.