By David Wiwchar

City looks to rural tax dollars

Oct 29, 2024 | 9:22 AM

Port Alberni’s City Council is looking towards budget discussions in the new year, and already targetting rural dollars.

Mayor Sharie Minions said 19,000 city taxpayers should not be forced to fund recreation for 27,000 valley residents, and said council is looking for an equitable solution – not a regional fight.

“We want to have a conversation about an equitable model and we have not determined exactly what that will be,” she said. “That should be had through discussion, negotiation, and hearing everyone’s perspectives.”

Local community groups lined up last week to protest increased recreational user fees, sending City Council to look for other sources of funding.

Council complained that city taxpayers are increasingly paying for recreation programs and facilities that rural residents are accessing for free.

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Minions said most other rural areas on the island are part of a regional recreation plan.

“If you look to other municipalities around us, you’ll see that they share the cost with their regional district,” she said. “So while we recognize that this is a challenging change for residents who live in the regional district and there will be pushback, it’s a discussion that we need to have. It’s not reasonable for us to ask city residents to pay the cost of services that are shared by the Alberni Valley.”

Minions is suggesting the formation of a recreation funding system where all areas participate and support.

The City is looking to update recreation user fees, and says regional assistance could eliminate proposed increases.

Council wants to know who is using city facilities, and will be asking sports and recreation groups to tell them what percentage of their participants are city versus rural residents.

Of the four regional areas, Beaver Creek and Beaufort have most consistently pushed back against adding funding to city services.