The Islands Trust has drafted a $7.86 million budget for the coming year and will begin its public consultation on it this weekend with an online survey.
“In developing this budget, we carefully assessed how the Islands Trust should respond to the interests and needs of our island communities in an accountable and fiscally responsible manner,” said Peter Luckham, Chair of the Islands Trust Council. “The next step is to ask the public to have a say about how we use funds in support of our mandate to preserve and protect the Trust Area.”
As members of the Islands Trust, Bowen Island Municipality contributes a proportional share of the cost of operations of the Trust Council and the Trust Fund Board as defined by the Islands Trust Act. If the proposed budget is approved, Bowen Island Municipality would contribute $293,463, an increase of 17.3% ($50,783).
As members of the Islands Trust, Bowen Island Municipality contributes a proportional share of the cost of operations of the Trust Council and the Trust Fund Board as defined by the Islands Trust Act. If the proposed budget is approved, Bowen Island Municipality would contribute $293,463, an increase of 17.3% ($50,783). Public comments received by February 12, 2018 will go to the Financial Planning Committee (FPC), which is responsible for developing the annual budget. The FPC will consider all feedback received by the deadline and make its budget recommendations to Trust Council. Trust Council will also review the public’s feedback before approving the final budget at its quarterly meeting March 13-15, 2017 on Salt Spring Island.
The details on the budget proposal, link to the survey and options for feedback are available at www.islandstrust.bc.ca/budget.
Highlights from the proposed budget for 2018-2019 include:
- A two percent increase in revenue from property taxes.
- An operating budget of $7.86 million.
- A proposed 1.3% increase in expenses ($100,000) over the 2017-2018 budget.
- Continued funding for projects identified in the 2014-2018 Strategic Plan.
- One-time funding for several key administrative projects.
