Williams Lake city council is considering their options as they look to adopt their 2025 budget and five-year financial plan.
In a committee of the whole meeting at city hall on Sept. 3, council discussed how to plan effectively for an uncertain future and how to direct staff, given some big unknowns may impact the city's budget.
The possible closure of Atlantic Power's Williams Lake Plant is only one of a number of shadows looming over the city of Williams Lake's balance sheet at the moment.
The closure of the biomass power plant for the city could mean a direct loss of $809,115 in taxes and $511,429 in utility fees. To compensate for this lost revenue and simply maintain current levels of services and infrastructure, the city would have to implement an estimated 4.8 per cent tax rate increase and 13.9 per cent water and sewer fee increases starting in 2026.
While Atlantic Power is the city's single largest taxpayer and its closure would have a big impact, a report by Vitali Kozubenko, chief financial officer for the city, laid out some other possible risks to the city's current budget.
The former Pioneer Complex property is currently three years behind in taxes and may become city property through the tax sale process. Should this happen, due to the building being in a slide zone and not able to be restored, the city’s own bylaw would require demolition of the large building within two years of it being declared derelict. The cost to demolish the structure, while still unknown, is expected to be significant, possibly in excess of $1 million. This is equivalent to an estimated six per cent tax rate increase from 2027.
The same slide zone is also impacting the city's tax revenues from Terra Ridge properties, which have dropped in property assessment since damage was brought to light from shifting ground. Four of the 80-unit development were declared uninhabitable. The remaining occupied residences are also reduced in their assessed values, lowering the amount of tax the city now collects.
These these and other factors spurred council to put forward a number of recommendations.
The recommendations which will go forward to a regular council meeting include: to maintain the water treatment plant as the top priority for the budget; to have staff prepare a report on the former Pioneer Complex site and potential costs if it becomes city property; to have staff prepare a report on how to attract investment in the community; for council to be on record on the importance of Atlantic Power to the community to take to the Union of BC Municipalities; and for staff to prioritize core level funding and grant projects.
As the staff seeks direction from mayor and council, council said they in turn want to know what the public's priorities are and they will look for ways to engage with the public on the budget.
The financial report prepared by Kozubenko can be found here on the city website at: https://williamslake.civicweb.net/document/165524/
