The Regional District of Fraser-Fort George Board of Directors has approved the 2022 operating budget and five-year financial plan.
Expenditures (operating and capital) for the regional district in 2022 will total $57.8 million. Of the $57.8 million, $20.6 million will be funded through property taxation, which is an increase of $535,414 or 2.67 per cent over 2021. Most of the other funding for the budget for 2022 is coming in the form of grants, user fees and use of reserve funds.
Regional district taxes per $100,000 of residential assessment decreased in all municipalities and electoral areas for 2022. In Prince George, the taxes decreased 10.8 per cent to $44.23 per $100,000 residential assessment. In Mackenzie, taxes are down 9.8 per cent to $51.88 per $100,000 residential assessment. Valemount will see a 13.5 per cent decrease at $224.31 per $100,000 residential assessment. McBride will see decrease of 8.7 per cent at $348.64.
However, those decreases may not result in a decrease on the tax bill for many homeowners in the region. The average increase region-wide in property assessment was 18.14 per cent, meaning that the overall amount homeowners are taxed on may have increased.
Significant 2022 budgeted expenditures provided by the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George include solid waste management ($23.1 million); 9-1-1 emergency response services ($8.0 million); protective services ($7.3 million) and recreation and cultural services ($5.0 million).
“In 2022 we are moving forward with strategic investments in capital projects like the Foothills Blvd. Landfill entrance relocation and managing rising costs related to regulatory requirements and inflation,” said board chair Art Kaehn, in a news release. “The pandemic continues to have an economic impact. While we have seen a recovery in certain areas of the economy, we know not all residents and businesses have been able to weather the past couple of years. The 2022 budget strives to find a balance with these factors.”
Kaehn notes that an increase or decrease in the overall requisition does not always translate to what residents will see reflected on their tax bill. The budget can affect communities in the region differently depending on a number of variables such as services provided to that area, fluctuations in property assessments and a change in the amount of residential or commercial properties that share in the funding of a particular service.
The Regional District of Fraser-Fort George provides 92 services to residents of its seven electoral areas and to the City of Prince George, District of Mackenzie, Village of Valemount and Village of McBride.