Islands Trust Council Re: Feedback on the 2019/20 Proposed Budget The Saturna Island Ratepayers and Residents Association (SIRRA) writes to provide comment on the proposed Islands Trust budget for fiscal 2019/20. SIRRA was established in 2006 to provide a forum for property owners and residents to discuss, and to challenge, when needed, legislation, regulation, taxation and policies of governments and government services relating to Saturna Island. According to the Islands Trust Budget History, expenditures have increased from circa $3 million in 94/95 to just short of $8 million in 18/19, a very large real rate of increase at a time when inflation was averaging 1.7% ($3 million in 1995 is equivalent to a purchasing power of $4.5 million in 2018). There seems to be no attempt on the part of the Islands Trust to constrain expenditures. Any strategic plan should have at its core the need to control costs and to increase efficiency. Islands Trust Policy: 6.5.1 RESERVES AND SURPLUS states: “The General Revenue Surplus Fund is created through a transfer of excess revenue over expenditures from the operations of the Trust. “ It appears that the Islands Trust has used the General Revenue Surplus Fund for several years as a buffer between the revenues collected and an expenditure that is greater.
The use of the surplus fund obscures the true rate of increase in expenditure. In the 2018/19 budget there is a planned heavy draw from the surplus fund ($670,000). The 2019/20 budget allows you to claim to “reduce” the planned surplus drawdown from $670,000 to $324,000 – however the budgeted figure (2019/20) is so similar to that in the forecast of expenditure for 2018/19 ($364,000) that any reduction is a moot point. This apparent 59% reduction in the draw on the surplus to “ensure the surplus fund remains healthy for the future” in turn allows you to “justify” the 2% increase in tax.
The manner in which you present the changes year on year by comparing budgets without reference to actual expenditure prevents individuals from understanding the true picture. In the absence of final figures, the actual projected expenditure should be an important part of the budget headlines you present.
SIRRA wishes to see a more rigorous manner of presenting the headlines so that ratepayers are better able to understand proposed budgets, and therefore in a better position to provide informed feedback. Sincerely, Michel Chiasson SIRRA President