The Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District (ACRD) has adopted its budget.
The board of directors adopted the district’s 2024-2028 financial plan during a regular meeting on March 27, 2024.
The 2024 budget is approximately $29.5 million. It includes a tax increase of 10.55 percent, including the Regional Hospital District annual budget. Approximately $10.7 million is budgeted for capital projects, although the ACRD anticipates 53 percent of the funds for these projects will come from grant funding.
The regional district budget varies from the City of Port Alberni budget in that each electoral area and municipality within the ACRD is taxed at a different rate. Each area contributes to different things.
In the Alberni Valley, Beaver Creek will see the highest tax impact, with an estimated $114.10 increase on the average household compared to the prior year. The “average household” varies in each electoral district and is outlined in the individual tax analyses in the financial plan.
In Sproat Lake, the increase is expected to be $99.80, while in Beaufort the increase will be $68.30. Cherry Creek has the lowest expected tax increase, at $50.40.
Beaver Creek director Susan Roth said on March 27 that she was concerned about the taxpayers’ ability to pay for this increase.
“I’d really like to get good figures to look at local demographics, to look at the people who are paying,” she said. “I feel like we’re not recognizing them. A double-digit increase is pretty big. So I’d just like to see us going into the next year with more of the taxpayers’ ability to pay on our mind.”
The financial plan was adopted after months of discussion, and it includes financial increases that reflect the fact that the ACRD is growing and needs to increase its service levels, as well as explore new services to respond to changing regional needs. However, ACRD staff say the plan has been “challenging” to develop as inflation rates have increased both the cost of operations and construction costs.
“It is particularly difficult to bring forward a financial plan that includes a tax increase knowing we all face increasing expenses from all directions,” said board chair John Jack. “We don’t take this decision lightly, and we have had extensive discussions on how we could minimize the impact on our taxpayers and still meet the needs of our region. We live in a time when we must invest in infrastructure, while we consider how to fund such things as emergency management, transportation needs and vital planning processes for each community within the region.”