In 2012 Big White paid $4.19m in property tax. 49% goes to Provincial School, Rural and Police tax. Leaving $2.1m. However if you only calculated net property taxes, generated by the RDKB, the number is less than $9m. Therefore Big White's taxes account for effectively 24% of the net income (2.1m/8.77m = 24%). If Big White contributes 24% of the tax income theoretically it should benefit from the budget for say Recreational & Cultural Services?
(The math is $5.070 billion of assessed values, blended rate of $3.67 per thousand = $17.2m x 51% = $8.77m). Link (pages are not numbered - you need to look at the 5th to last page)
The 4th to last page shows annual property taxes vs budget. Without having the actual numbers it looks like about 60% of the total annual budget is property tax.
Now the RDKB's gross budget for 2013 is $33m - requisitions make up $17m, Grants etc etc, the rest (including reserve fund $2.2m and last years surplus $2.1m).
It could be argued that Big White does not contribute to the $5.2m of user fees generated through assets owned by the Regional District. However, those assets were acquired through everyone's taxes, including Big White's.
Below is the RDKB budget for Recreational & Cultural Services - the 2013 budget is $6.4m. In 2012 the budget was $6m+. And over the next 5 years the planned budgets will be similar. (Page 9 of 18.)
RECREATION & CULTURAL SERVICES
Culture Arts & Rec in the Lower Columbia $1,808,346
Beaver Valley Arena $576,336
Beaver Valley Recreation $235,420
Beaver Valley Parks & Trails $850,110
Parks & Trails - Electoral Area 'B' $257,479
Recreation Program - Grand Forks & Area 'D' $448,616
Recreation Commission - Greenwood, Midway , 'E' $42,283
Recreation Commission - Christina Lake $62,323
Christina Lake Recreation Facilities $51,319
Grand Forks Community Centre 0
Boundary Museum Service $30,000
Area 'C' Regional Parks & Trails $258,560
Beaverdell Community Club Service $19,950
Area 'D' Regional Parks & Trails $41,373
Area 'E' Regional Parks & Trails $6,273
Grand Forks Arena $586,094
Grand Forks Curling Rink $85,988
Grand Forks Aquatic Centre $717,087
Regional Library Services - Grand Forks, Areas 'C' & 'D' $342,490
Library - Specified Area 'E' $3,500
Grand Total $6,423,548
Have a look at the budget, there are quite a number of line items... but zero for Big White. The RDKB indicates 31% of the budget goes to Recreational stuff.
The other interesting thing is assets owned by the RDKB - it appears they have combined cash funds and capital assets of $43m - it could be argued Big White contributed 24% of this. (Page 1 of the Consolidated Financial Statements.)
So, what does this all mean? Well, it looks like Big White gets about $2.1m of benefits - the equivalent amount of net funds (or 51% of Gross) it sends to the RDKB. In comparison the RDKB spends about double the Gross tax revenue. Or to be equally compensated, Big White should see $8.4m flow into the community.
The Problem.
The problem is we don't have a voice, 3,000 +/- properties and no votes, we don't have fair representation for the taxes we submit. I am told the last census indicated 105 permanent voting residents at Big White. At the last local government elections, Bill Baird won the election with 354 votes to Christopher Stevenson's 204. A 100% turnout would do little.
I would like to see Big White grow and become independent, to control its own destiny, we have a lot of smart people at Big White - surely we know how to manage our own budgets...?
I am green to municipal organizations, I have no idea about politics or running a city but I am told we need a referendum.
So to summarize -
Culture Arts & Rec in the Lower Columbia $1,808,346
Beaver Valley Arena $576,336
Beaver Valley Recreation $235,420
Beaver Valley Parks & Trails $850,110
Parks & Trails - Electoral Area 'B' $257,479
Recreation Program - Grand Forks & Area 'D' $448,616
Recreation Commission - Greenwood, Midway , 'E' $42,283
Recreation Commission - Christina Lake $62,323
Christina Lake Recreation Facilities $51,319
Grand Forks Community Centre 0
Boundary Museum Service $30,000
Area 'C' Regional Parks & Trails $258,560
Beaverdell Community Club Service $19,950
Area 'D' Regional Parks & Trails $41,373
Area 'E' Regional Parks & Trails $6,273
Grand Forks Arena $586,094
Grand Forks Curling Rink $85,988
Grand Forks Aquatic Centre $717,087
Regional Library Services - Grand Forks, Areas 'C' & 'D' $342,490
Library - Specified Area 'E' $3,500
Grand Total $6,423,548
Have a look at the budget, there are quite a number of line items... but zero for Big White. The RDKB indicates 31% of the budget goes to Recreational stuff.
The other interesting thing is assets owned by the RDKB - it appears they have combined cash funds and capital assets of $43m - it could be argued Big White contributed 24% of this. (Page 1 of the Consolidated Financial Statements.)
So, what does this all mean? Well, it looks like Big White gets about $2.1m of benefits - the equivalent amount of net funds (or 51% of Gross) it sends to the RDKB. In comparison the RDKB spends about double the Gross tax revenue. Or to be equally compensated, Big White should see $8.4m flow into the community.
The Problem.
The problem is we don't have a voice, 3,000 +/- properties and no votes, we don't have fair representation for the taxes we submit. I am told the last census indicated 105 permanent voting residents at Big White. At the last local government elections, Bill Baird won the election with 354 votes to Christopher Stevenson's 204. A 100% turnout would do little.
I would like to see Big White grow and become independent, to control its own destiny, we have a lot of smart people at Big White - surely we know how to manage our own budgets...?
I am green to municipal organizations, I have no idea about politics or running a city but I am told we need a referendum.
So to summarize -
- For every dollar the RDKB spends, $.60c+/- is collected in property tax.
- For every tax dollar Big White submits, $.51c gets returned. (actually it looks like less - 15% going to Area E?) Pie Chart at the bottom.
- For every dollar the rest of the region submits $2 gets returned.
- The RDKB will spend $6.4m on Recreation and Cultural improvement this year. Zero is allocated to Big White.
Let's have a voice!
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