Vernon Tax Increase at 4.36% heading for 0%.

At TODAY's special Budget Cow Meeting starting at 8 AM I would like any member of council to simply ask the questions to the CFO of what is wrong with the adjustments suggested in the attached spreadsheet.

The question(s) could be:

• If we reduced the RCMP costs for the extra manpower to make them conform to the actual 2008 costs that will be incurred will this money remain in the 2007 RCMP operating surplus and will it then be transferred to the RCMP reserve?
• What was the RCMP operating surplus in 2007?
• If we take this surplus and apply it to this budget to allow the reserve to remain at the $1,000,000 cap that was the Council's policy agreed to last year what effect will this have on this year's budget?
• Now that the fire salary negotiations are finished how much is left in the Fringe Load Variance Reserve fund that could be utilized to lower taxes in this budget.
• What was the 2007 surplus excluding the Police Surplus and what reserve does it presently sit in as required by the year end audit? Is this the net surplus after some of it (how much) was used for the Middleton Way project?
• How much is in the Assisted Living Reserve at year end? Is there any additional money being proposed to be added to replace the $60,000 used for the Hospice House grants? What will happen to this reserve if the DCC policy eliminates the original need for such a reserve. (Remember over $300,000 came from the RCMP reserve orginally.)
• Other small questions suggested by spreadsheet re franchise fee, airport and finance department salaries and any other new hires not yet on board?
  

The questions are up to the councilors to ask now so I won't have to ask them at the Public Input session.


CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE AND COPY:
The Updated Vernon Tax increase that staff will produce on Monday at the COW meeting will start out at 4.36%. With some obvious adjustments that should be made it can be reduced by 2.59% quite easily.
The remaining 1.77% should be easily covered by other nebulous reserves and last year's operating surplus, (Over taxation).

Tax increase should be no greater than 0% in this election year.