A $400,000 upgrade of the lobby washroom at the Island Savings Centre tops the “wish list” as the Cowichan Valley Regional District prepares its budget for 2018.
Overall, the CVRD has 50 expense items, totalling more than $4 million, on a list that the board of directors could be asked to consider to add to the district’s budget for next year.
Of those, 31, including the upgrades to ISL’s washrooms, are considered urgent and of the “highest overall priority”.
Among the other most expensive items out of the 50 on the list are a new $250,000 loader for Bing’s Creek Recycling Centre, community pathway projects worth $211,000, system upgrades at the Lambourn sewer system worth $150,000, upgrades at the skateboard facility in Kerry Park worth another $150,000, and the hiring of a corporate records officer for $108,800.
The CVRD tabled its draft budget for 2018 in October which covers just the district’s core services, with no new spending.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE DRAFT BUDGET, CLICK HERE
Mark Kueber, the CVRD’s general manager of corporate services, said for this year’s budget-building process, the district’s finance staff was asked by the board to produce a core draft budget and a separate list of the district’s other spending priorities for the year.
He said staff was also asked to rank the expense items, most of which are new this year, according to their priority to help directors decide which, if any, they wish to add to the budget in 2018.
Kueber said that from now until the end of 2017, individual committee and commission meetings in the CVRD, which are open to the public, will hear the budget debated and the recommendations that will be forwarded to the board.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE MEETINGS, CLICK HERE
“Should any budget amendments be required after these meetings, a schedule will be published on the district’s website reflecting the amendments to date,” Kueber said.
“Each of the district’s committees and commissions are different and have their own minds as to what the spending priorities should be.”
Kueber said the district is also planning a number of town hall budget meetings over the next few months, and the dates and times of the meetings will be announced.
It is anticipated that the CVRD’s final budget for 2018 will be adopted in early January.
robert.barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.com
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