Did you know that for every tax dollar collected in Vancouver, the federal government gets 60 cents, the provincial government gets 32 cents, and the City of Vancouver gets 8 cents*?
Property tax revenue
Although it receives the lowest share of your tax dollar of the three levels of government, your City provides the daily services we all consider essential – such as running water, traffic lights and firefighting.
Vancouver offers a broad range of services but has a narrow revenue stream, with only three main sources: property taxes, utility fees and user fees such as parking fees and business licences.
With a charter that prohibits the City from running a deficit, Vancouver relies on careful planning and stewardship of its finances to ensure that our city remains one of the most livable cities in the world.
Where Your tax dollars go?
The City's budget has two parts: the operating budget and the capital budget.
Operating budget
Taking care of daily services
The operating budget covers services such as policing, fire fighting, parks and engineering – the daily services needed to keep Vancouver running.
Whether it's correctly predicting the maintenance costs of the water filtration system or anticipating the effects of changing fuel prices on the cost of running garbage trucks, City managers are responsible for ensuring that the operating budget meets all the diverse needs of our growing community.
Capital budget
Large projects and lasting infrastructure
Road repair, bridge upgrades and replacement of water mains are all capital expenditures. Maintaining infrastructure is a way of investing in the future of our city, and is an important factor in realizing long-term cost savings by extending the usable lifespan. The capital budget also includes the expansion and creation of new infrastructure such as community centres, ice rinks, swimming pools and City works yards.
Three-Year Capital Plan
Capital expenses are set according to a different set of guidelines than operating expenses. Every three years Council plans, with extensive public consultation, what to spend on infrastructure in the next three-year cycle.
The Three-Year Capital Plan, which corresponds to the elected term of your Council, offers a realistic and manageable three-year horizon in which to undertake investments in the City's capital. Any capital project (other than those needed to keep the sewer and water systems running) that requires borrowing money ends up on the ballot during municipal elections – allowing citizens the opportunity to determine how Council budgets for capital expenditures.