SUPPORTS ITEM NO. 1
CS&B COMMITTEE AGENDA
APRIL 25, 1996
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: April 22, 1996
TO: Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets
FROM: Director of Finance
SUBJECT: 1996 Operating Budget - Final Report
RECOMMENDATION
A THAT Council approve the final adjustments to the 1996
Operating Budget Revenue and Expenditure estimates as
presented in this report and summarized in Appendix 1.
B. THAT Council approve creation of 3.0 FTE positions at the
Vancouver Public Library as detailed in this report; source
of funding to be the 1996 Library Operating Budget.
C. THAT Council approve the purchase of new and replacement
trucks and equipment for Engineering - Street Cleaning
($48,000 from the Workers Compensation Board); the Building
Management Division ($40,000 from the Plant Account); and
the Fire Department ($1.3 million from the Plant Account) as
detailed in this report.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The General Manager of Corporate Services RECOMMENDS approval of
A, B and C.
COUNCIL POLICY
The Vancouver Charter requires the Director of Finance to present the
estimates of revenues and expenditures to Council not later than April
30 each year, and for Council to adopt a resolution approving the
budget and a rating bylaw establishing general purpose tax rates as
soon thereafter as possible.
On April 16, 1996, Council approved the recommendations of the
Director of Finance contained in the interim Report on the 1996
Operating Budget. These recommendations provided final instructions to
bring the budget into balance, including application of a 0.1% tax
increase specifically targeted at passing through the increase in the
Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District requisition. The tax
increase related to City controlled expenditures is 0%.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to bring forward for Council approval
the final adjustments necessary to ensure that all appropriate revenue
and expenditure estimates are included in the 1996 Operating Budget.
DISCUSSION
Since Council approved the interim estimates, the final steps to
complete the 1996 Operating Budget cycle have been taken. These
include final adjustments to reflect the confirmation of Provincial
Local Government Grant funding; the establishment of funding in
General Government to provide for the computer replacement program
approved as part of the interim estimates; adjustment to the provision
for outside legal costs in Legal Services associated with rezoning
work completed by outside counsel; and, final adjustments to
Contingency Reserve.
The estimates have also been adjusted to provide for the balance of
the expenditures related to the CityPlan program. This funding totals
$220,600 and is provided by a transfer from Revenue Surplus
($141,700), completing the program approved by Council, and $78,900 in
temporary help funding approved by the Corporate Management Team from
within the budget.
Subject to consideration of the Park Board global budget and added
basic funding which are also on the Committee agenda this day, of the
1996 Operating Budget will be ready for adoption by Council.
The Operating Budget is summarized in Appendix 1, reflecting these
changes.
CONTINGENCY RESERVE
The final estimates include a general provision of $2.9 million in
Contingency Reserve. As noted at the interim report stage, this
includes provision for a wage increases related to employee groups
that have not settled contracts for 1996, as well as for several items
that will be before Council in the near future. The remaining of
Contingency Reserve, estimated at $1.68 million will provide funding
for Council to deal with emergent issues that arise during the year.
This provision is consistent with the level of actual expenditures
provided from Contingency Reserve in 1995.
REQUIRED COUNCIL APPROVALS ARISING FROM THE BUDGET
These are two further items arising from the 1996 Operating Budget
which require specific Council approval.
Additional Library Staffing
The Director of the Library has recommended conversion of funding to
create new positions in four areas of the Library budget:
- 0.5 FTE facility booking clerk is required to handle the rental
space at Library Square.
- 1.0 FTE maintenance position is required to assist with the
automated book handling system.
- 0.5 FTE System Librarian is required to convert an existing
0.5 FTE to a full time position to handle the systems and
telephone aspects of the Central Library operation.
- 0.5 FTE Computer Lab position is required to ensure proper
operation of the Central Library computer laboratory.
Funding for all of these positions has been provided for from within
the Library budget target, either by reallocation of existing
resources or from new revenue sources. Classification of these
positions will be subject concurrence by the General Manager of Human
Resources.
Purchases from the Plant Account
Submissions to the New and Non-Recurring program in the Operating
Budget included requests for new equipment that would normally be
funded from the Plant Account. These included the following items:
2 Litter Carts $48,000
Engineering - Street Cleaning
As part of its early return to work program, the Worker s
Compensation Board has agreed to purchase two additional litter
carts to be used in the Street Cleaning program. These
purchases will allow two employees to return to work, in a
"light duty" situation, earlier than would otherwise be
possible. While WCB will provide funding for the purchase,
Council approval is required to make the purchase. The
additional operating costs are anticipated to be offset from
savings in WCB levies.
2 - 3/4 ton Vans $40,000
Real Estate and Property Management
The Building Management group are currently renting three 3/4
ton vans which are utilized in their maintenance operations.
Rentals were approved pending confirmation that there was
sufficient ongoing work and economics to justify retention of
this equipment. It is now recommended that two of the three
vans be purchased by the City as ownership is less expensive to
the Operating Budget than outside rentals. A decision on the
third van will be made after the final resolution of Health
building maintenance with the Health Board.
Fire Apparatus and Vehicle Replacement $1,300,000
Fire and Rescue Services
At the preliminary stage of the budget, staff recommended that
the replacement of Fire and Rescue Services apparatus and
support vehicles be transferred from the Operating Budget to the
Plant Account to allow for a more programmed replacement. The
1996 program calls for replacements valued at $1.3 million. As
the General Manager of Fire and Rescue Services will be
reporting to Council in the near future on new equipment
configurations, it is proposed that this funding be approved now
and that decisions about the specific equipment to be purchased
follow from Council s action on those recommendations.
It is recommended that this equipment be purchased from the Plant
Account.
COMPLETING THE BUDGET CYCLE
Completion of the 1996 Operating Budget will require a formal
resolution by Council and adoption of the rating bylaw to establish
1996 general purposes tax rates. However, before that resolution can
be approved, there are two issues that Council will be asked to
resolve.
On May 9, 1996, the Director of Finance will report to Council on two
property taxation matters which must be decided prior to adopting the
rating bylaws. The first issue deals with a proposed Taxation
Limitation Program for 1996 (tax capping), the second with
consideration of any further shift of taxation burden from
non-residential to residential properties. While decisions flowing
from consideration of these issues could impact the distribution of
the taxation burden among the classes and the final tax rates, they
will not change the general purposes tax levy presented in Appendix 1
and will, therefore, have no impact on the 1996 Operating Budget
position reflected in this report.
Based on decisions from the May 9 meeting, the Budget Resolution,
Special Resolutions related to taxation averaging and capping and the
Rating Bylaws will be before Council on May 14 for final approval.
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