The Canadian Federation of Independent Business has released a report ranking BC municipality’s fiscal sustainability.
CFIB BC Director Richard Truscott says spending is out of control across the province;
“If you look at the operating budgets for all municipalities across the province, they are still expanding faster than the tax base is increasing to pay for those costs. That impacts our members who are the small business owners in these communities; they are paying two three or five times more than residential taxpayers to support those costs.”
Truscott said he believes spending should be pinned to increases in population and that BC municipalities need to do a better job sharing ideas and best practices.
He acknowledged that upper levels of government have been ‘downloading’ certain expenses onto the city level but said that additional services often offset things.
Municipalities in BC are legislated to run balanced budgets, meaning they can’t run deficits like higher levels of government.
Prince George
• 12th in cities over 25k
• 7th in Northern BC
• 58th overall (out of 151)
Vanderhoof
• 2nd in Northern BC
• 25th overall
Fort Saint James
• 10th in Northern BC
• 84th overall
The full report can be viewed here.
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