At the last Nanaimo Council meeting the financial plan for 2016-2020 was presented by the Finance Department. Here are some highlights from the presentation:

• Outstanding debt at December 31, 2015 was $47.8 million.
• City’s current annual debt payments are $4.9 million.
• Operating budget is $200 million.
• Revenue from property taxes is $98 million.

Nanaimo Property Tax and rate increases over next 5 years

Current debt is for the following items:

• $21M (Water Treatment Plant)
• $20M (Vancouver Island Conference Centre)
• $3M (Nanaimo Aquatic Centre)
• $2.6M (Fire Station #4)
• $1M (Parkade)

Total current debt $48 million

Debt not yet on the books:

• $6.6M (Police Operations Building expansion)
• $6M (Wellcox Access)
• $1.1M (Northfield Road Improvements)

Acting Mayor Wage Increase

Coming up on Monday night, April 18th, Council will take another look at their proposed Acting Mayor wage increase of  $1,189.  The increase would add another $20,000 to the Councillors’ salaries by the end of their term.

Nanaimo Mayor Expenses

Documents obtained through a Freedom of Information as reported by Island Radio show Mayor Bill McKay’s expenses in 2015 were just over $27,000. A trade mission to China accounted for $6,000 worth of Mayor McKay’s expenses.  In comparison, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson’s expenses were just under $24,000 in 2014.

Also, apparently  there is no set expense limit for Nanaimo Councillors.

Core Review

The final report on the Core Review is expected May 13th. The Core Review is being conducted by Western Management Consultants for a cost of approximately $250,000. This is to find ways to save money. Will this report document the amount of money the City spends on consultants? What can be done about it?

Regional District of Nanaimo tax increases

RDN proposed tax increases for 2016:

• 4.9% Parksville
• 3.3% Qualicum Beach
• 2.2% Area E Nanoose
• 3.0% Area F Coombs
• 4.8% Area G French Creek
• 0.6% Area H Bowser
• 3%? Gabriola
• 6%? Area A Cedar

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