It's budget time again, Nanaimo! City Council has been working with staff on planning for 2020. Budget planning for a municipality is a months-long process involving City staff from all departments, Council and residents.
The process begins in early spring, as staff start updating 10-year project plans. Throughout the summer, business plans, business cases and budgets that support department’s work plans are drafted. They are then reviewed and finalized in the fall. Next, over the course of a number of open meetings, departments present their business plans and proposed budgets to Council. Through discussion and feedback received from residents, Council then make changes to fine-tune the budget.
The City's budget provides funding for the year ahead including fixed costs such as wages and City facility operations and one-offs such as building a new pump station or installing a new playground in a park. Budget planning also involves managing the City's assets which includes annual maintenance of utilities, roads, parks, trails and facilities and identifying what infrastructure needs to be improved, replaced or built.
Some highlights of projects proposed for 2020 include:
- Review of the Official Community Plan
- Construction of the Harewood Youth Park
- Water course restoration and enhancement program
- Fire Station #1 replacement
- Metral Drive complete street project
- Pedestrian and cycling safety improvements
Next year, the City will also be addressing a number of service gaps in its budget with the proposed addition of:
- Three RCMP officers (a total of 15 addition officers will be hired over the next five years)
- Traffic Signal Technician
- Two Prisoner Guards
- Director of IT
- Urban Forestry Technician
- General Manager of Corporate Services
- Manager of Economic Development Services
- Funding for implementation of an external economic development function
Have questions or feedback about the budget?
You can attend the meeting on December 2 at 1 pm or participate in the eTown Hall at 7 pm. Participating in the eTown Hall is easy. Come down to the Vancouver Island Conference Centre Shaw Auditorium and ask your questions in person or, wherever you are, you can submit a question on the City website, the City's eTown Hall Facebook event page or Twitter using #NanaimoTH. You can also watch the eTown Hall on Shaw Community Channel 4, the City website or the City's Facebook page.
Review budget information and budget-related meetings held to date:
Budget Information
Wednesday, November 20 Finance and Audit Committee meeting
Friday, November 22 Special Finance and Audit Committee meeting
Monday, November 25 Special Finance and Audit Committee meeting