City of Surrey 2017 - 2021 Financial Plan

Message from the General Manager, Finance andTechnology

5.0 ROADS & TRAFFIC UTILITY FINANCIAL PLAN—ISSUES AND PRIORITIES

In 2007, Council approved a Local Roads and Traffic Safety Levy to fund maintenance of the City's local roadway pavement and additional safety-related road needs, such as pedestrian crossings, sidewalks, and traffic calming. The Levy was established in 2008 and was set using the equivalent of a 1% property tax increase in each of the next four years. In 2012, the levy was expanded to support the City’s portion of road and traffic needs beyond the local and collector roads. In line with the plan that encompassed the expanded vision, the 2017 levy will increase by an equivalent 1% property tax of approximately $18.00 for an average assessed single family dwelling and $68.00 for a business with an assessed value of $1 million. The Local Roads and Traffic Safety Levy is a key factor in the City’s ability to meet the key objectives of the Transportation Policy, which include traffic safety, transportation system maintenance and rehabilitation as well as network management, operations and ensuring sustainable funding. The 2017 - 2021 Financial Plan includes similar increases in future years to ensure funding is available to meet these transportation objectives.

6.0 SEWER UTILITY FINANCIAL PLAN—ISSUES AND PRIORITIES

The Sewer Utility is a self-sustaining fund. Any projected funding requirements are met by a corresponding increase in user fees. Over the last two decades, the City has been moving towards a ‘user-pay’ approach for sewer usage, with the eventual aim of retiring the ‘flat rate’ system.

The Sewer Utility’s funding requirements are affected by the following factors:

 Greater Vancouver Sewer and Drainage District’s (“GVS&DD”) projected increases;  Contractual labour increases; and  Capital replacement needs for our aging infrastructure. These funding requirements will be addressed through modest increases in the sewer rates over the next several years. For 2017, the average metered single family dwelling will pay $285 ($270 in 2016) for sanitary sewer. The primary goals of the Solid Waste Utility are to achieve an 80% waste diversion from Surrey residential waste stream by 2020 and to reduce illegal dumping and related cleanup costs by 50% by 2018. In Surrey, the cost associated with illegal dumping has increased two-fold between the years 2005 to 2015, far outpacing population growth during the same period. The negative effects of illegal dumping are detrimental to cities as it damages the environment, creates potential public safety hazards, poses health risks to people and wildlife, conveys a negative image of communities, and impacts quality of life in general. 7.0 SOLID WASTE UTILITY FINANCIAL PLAN—ISSUES AND PRIORITIES

2017-2021 FINANCIAL PLAN

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