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Appendix C – Business and Financial Planning Guidelines, 2017 2017-2021 1. Guidelines for Financial Planning: 1.1. General Purposes Property Tax Increase – 1.90% in 2017 and 2018, and
2.0% in 2019, 2020 and 2021. 1.2. Infrastructure Sustainability Property Tax Increase – 0.70% per year. 1.3. Parks, Recreation and Culture Property Tax Increase – 0.25% per year. 1.4.
Storm Water Property Tax Increase – 0.30% per year. 1.5. Water Levy Increase – 4.50% per year. 1.6. Sewer Levy Increase – 3.60% per year. 1.7. Recycling Levy Increase – 2.75% per year.
1.8. Growth in Property Tax Revenue Assumption – 2.00% per year. 1.9. Provision for costs associated with growth, subject to available funding. 1.10. Allocation of growth revenue from
incentive programs to fund Infrastructure Sustainability. 1.11. The Financial Plan will include a funding strategy to deliver on Council-identified priority community infrastructure.
Various funding methods will be considered: debt financing, borrowing from internal reserves, amenity contributions, and other revenue sources. 1.12. Budgets include operating and capital
components for a five-year period. 1.13. The Financial Plan must be in accordance with Council’s strategic Financial Sustainability Plan policies approved in October 2004. 1.14. Collective
Agreements – the financial plan needs to include sufficient financial capacity to address collective agreement settlements or the emerging patterns. 1.15. Grants – Targeted grant funding
sources should be reflected in the financial plan, along with the associated project costs. 1.16. Community Amenity Charges should be forecasted in the financial plan, along with the
associated capital project costs. 1.17. Transition costs related to the Parks and Leisure Services Agreement dissolution should be built into in the financial plan. 2. Guidelines for
Business Planning: 2.1. Council-raised issues are to be considered in developing workplans, respecting the criteria for establishing priorities and recognizing that capacity is needed
for opportunities or issues that might be discovered throughout the year. 2.2. Property tax rates will be reviewed annually to ensure we are competitive with other lower mainland municipalities.
2.3. Utility Charges will be reviewed annually with a view towards using rate stabilization practices to smooth out large fluctuations in rates. 2.4. Public Consultation Plan developed
and operationalized. Public consultation to gauge community support for major capital investments merits special consideration. New New* New New* New New* New New*
Appendix C – Business and Financial Planning Guidelines, 2017 2017-2021 2.5. Evaluation of services to ensure alignment with Council direction. 2.6. Identify and measure outputs/outcomes.
Performance measures will be published in the Annual Report and on the website. 2.7. Performance reports are to be presented to Council at open Council meetings, both in relation to
Council priorities and departmental commitments. 2.8. Identify key processes to undergo formal process improvement reviews. 2.9. Identify potential new revenue sources (i.e. be creative).
Increase revenue from existing sources by about 5.00%. 2.10. Reduction packages should reflect significant changes to an area’s operation. The requirement is less about meeting a specific
target reduction, and not about trimming costs around the edges, but rather should result in a fundamental shift in what or how services are delivered. Given the degree of cross-functional
projects and service delivery, departments should consider collaborative reduction packages in partnership with other departments. 2.11. Incremental packages must include a business
case to support new programs/projects/staff. 2.12. Organizational/structural change – is the current organization adequate to deliver the service? Are there better options? Contract
for services, or bring services in-house, where and when it makes sense organizationally and financially. 2.13. Succession planning – review organization charts in relation to service
delivery with a view to long-term planning. What positions do you see as potentially becoming vacant by retirement and what organizational options may be available as a result? 2.14.
Vacant position review and management – all positions that become vacant are subject to a detailed review prior to being refilled. 2.15. Contracting/Consulting review – all consulting
work should undergo a review at not only budget time, but also when services are being contracted to determine the best way to acquire services. This will involve potentially contracting
out where it makes sense and contracting in where there are available staff resources. 2.16. Technology – review business applications and technology tools to identify upgrade or obsolescence
issues. Ensure workplans, budgets and Information Services workplans/projects reflect the resources necessary to support the changes if required. 2.17. Workplans will identify short-term,
medium and longer-term action items that Council may consider, as we work towards carbon neutrality.