Council approved third reading of its 2023 budget at city hall Tuesday night.
The 10-year financial plan for City of Chilliwack comes with a tax rate increase of 4.48 per cent for 2023, and the unanimous vote by council was held after hearing comments from the public during the public information meeting.
First up from the public at the podium was resident Lisa Morry, a member of Chilliwack Citizens for Change.
“I am asking council to exceed your proposed budget by hiring 60 additional firefighters,” Morry said.
Based on a post by Chilliwack Professional Firefighters’ Local 2826, Morry suggested the city has “less than half” the full-time firefighting staff per capita compared to municipalities of comparable size, which impacts response time and service levels.
“When fire department is not funded to do its job, members of our community will suffer losses,” Morry said, adding that people have lost their homes and belongings.
Resident Eryne Croquet as a member of Friends of the Hope-Camp Slough wanted to know why the budget for blueways access appeared to show a reduction from $50,000 to $10,000, since that access to the water is “key” to getting people interested in restoration.
But staff said the $10,000 item in the capital budget was for new blueways access, and every two years there was $50,000 allocated for channel cleaning of the sloughs.
Croquet also inquired about the feasibility of getting information signs, maybe with a QR code, along the Hope slough.
Resident Gary Raddysh was in attendance to ask council once again to consider a zero per cent increase in taxes, especially given the state of the economy.
“I have often asked this and everyone says it’s not possible,” Raddysh said.
He noted council approving the tax increase this year was voted in by less than 23 per cent of the population, and said last year only about 550 people out of the 100,000 population weighed into the survey with budget priorities.
”I sure would hate to lose my house because taxes have gone beyond my control,” Raddysh said after saying he was one of those who can afford the $200 or so increase he might be levied.
“I am asking the council to relinquish its ability to raise taxes and looking for a change in the system.”
Resident Roxanna Kooistra, spoke as an advocate for wild salmon, blueways, and sloughs, praising the city’s increased investment in green infrastructure and natural area enhancement.
She asked if there was a plan in place for the city to fund “long-term, small, incremental improvements” on the slough system, given the desire for some local groups to partner and match the slough restoration work.
Staff said they invest in drainage channel maintenance every year, opening up the channels primarily for drainage, which has the side benefit of opening them up for blueway and boat access and also for fish passage.
Resident Bryden Nelmes noted that while the Williams Street Bridge project was still in the 10-year plan, it seemed to be waiting a long time for regulatory approval, and he asked if there was a timeframe for the work.
Mayor Popove piped in with: “That’s the $64-million-dollar question,” adding it was bogged down in bureaucracy.
The answer was they were working toward environmental approvals and did not have a timeline.
Nelmes noted the 2023 budget calls for two additional firefighters.
“I wonder if will this ensure at minimum a four-person, 24/7 crew coverage at fire halls 1 and 4, and if not, is that the ultimate goal?”
“Yes our goal is to have a four firefighters on crew 24/7, 365 days,” Fire Chief Ian Josephson replied. “We have 42 firefighters right now.
“Based on the vacation schedule and regular schedule that’s adequate to meet that goal. Unfortunately due to unscheduled leave, we do have gaps. But as we add firefighters we’ll be able to close them.”
Resident Daphne Clegg thanked council for the increase in bike lanes.
“I have been able to cycle from Ryder lake to downtown on my ebike using various cycle paths,” Clegg said.
With “visions of Chilliwack being a destination cycling city” with the iconic Vedder Rotary trail, she said she’d like to see more scenic routes and trail loops, and encouraged council to increase funding for continued improvements to the bike path system.
Resident Drew Brayshaw asked about long-range planning and funding for road maintenance, given the “pretty significant disaster” here with last year atmospheric rivers, with “lots of flooding and roads washed out.”
Looking at the 10-year financial plan, the road maintenance budget is “essentially flat” and doesn’t appear to anticipate the need to allocate more.
“I am concerned we are not anticipating such future disasters here and not planning to update our outdated and undersized infrastructure to avoid these things before they happen,” Brayshaw said.
There was an incremental increase in the drainage budget, he was told by staff, which is the budget area affected when a disaster like flooding occurs. There is also a program to increase culvert size, in the fine print of the 10-year plan.
Resident Janice Balakshin of Cycle Chilliwack, asked about the quick wins that were recommended under the Cycle Vision plan, and how long it might take to get them done. She also asked about the specialized equipment for cleaning bike paths with the physical delineators.
Jennifer Douglas of Cycle Vision had comments about bike lane improvements, cyclist safety, on becoming a cycling destination city, and the need for better maintenance of bike lanes with delineators.
City staff responses to the bike lane questions included that city officials were having an issue with cleaning of the delineated bike lanes, and were having difficulty finding a suitable street sweeper so they will continue to sweep debris by hand.
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