Service cuts could be coming for Port Alberni residents in 2025 as city council struggles to balance the upcoming budget.
Port Alberni city council spent their last meeting of the 2024 year discussing the 2025 budget. During the last regular meeting of council on Monday, Dec. 9, council directed city staff to conduct a "comprehensive review" of city services in order to identify cost savings for the 2025 budget.
This comes after city staff announced in October that the city could be facing a "significant" tax increase next year of more than 15 percent. This is mostly because of the city's "infrastructure deficit," as aging city assets need to be repaired and replaced.
On Dec. 9, Port Alberni Mayor Sharie Minions also pointed out that the recent news about the San Group filing for creditor protection will further affect the city's budget in 2025 and beyond. As of Nov. 8, 2024, San Group had not paid its property taxes to the City of Port Alberni for 2024, according to a Freedom of Information (FOI) Request.
“There are no easy cuts to make," Minions said. "Every service that we offer in this city is a worthy service. However, I don’t think our taxpayers are willing to accept a 20 percent increase this year.”
Minions said she wants to see city staff look at the city's operating budget this year. While previously council has made cuts to its capital budget in order to trim tax increases, Minions says this won't be enough.
“I think we’re in a more challenging place this year than we ever have been before,” Minions said. “We are growing as a community and we do have an obligation to always look at everything we’re doing with an eye for improvement to our community. Operations are a lot more challenging to look at and more difficult because nobody wants a service reduction. We have to start making some decisions about which services are core to our community and which ones are not."
As per council direction, city staff will look at maintenance reductions for public buildings, recreational fields, green spaces, gardens, boulevards, street cleaning and trails. City staff will also look at closing city facilities or reducing service hours, which includes buildings like the Alberni Valley Multiplex, Echo Centre and Echo Pool, as well as city hall, the city's planning and engineering building and its community safety building.
Other potential cuts could come for overtime expenditures, the museum budget and the city's economic development budget.
Staff will come back to council in January with detailed options and recommendations for reducing operational service levels.
The city's next budget discussions will take place during a committee of the whole meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 14 at 6 p.m. in council chambers. Councillor Charles Mealey encouraged members of the public to come out and attend the meeting and provide their feedback.
“We really want public engagement,” he said. “This is what the committee of the whole is. This is why we have these meetings at night time.”
