Municipal elections are taking place next year, which means operating expenses are being tallied and observed by auditors.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) believes budget spending in most BC communities has grown four times faster than population numbers.
“That is not sustainable,” says CFIB Vice-President for BC, Richard Truscott.
“They’re not taking into consideration the ability for residents and small businesses to pay for those much higher salary costs going to mean much higher taxes and fees down the road for municipalities for many years to come.”
According to CFIB’s 2017 Municipal Watch Report, less than five percent of councils have stayed on par with the spending to population ratio in the last 10 years.
Truscott claims current spending patterns are the reason.
“Such a big part of the operating budget is to pay for staff, to pay for salaries, wages, and benefits, and unless they can control that big chunk of the budget, which is typically between 50 and 60%, then it’s going to be very difficult for them to exert any control over the overall growth in the total budget.”
He says this could mean higher taxes for residents and small businesses, and local governments should be more clear on how they plan to resolve budget spending issues.
Some of the other expenses include police and fire department services.
2017 BC Spending Watch Report: local govts real operating costs from 2005-2015 rose 4X faster than population growth https://t.co/5y8caVeccJ pic.twitter.com/K8UHCFlxFf
— Richard Truscott (@cfibBC) October 25, 2017
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