UBCM has prioritized addressing local government cost pressures and securing new annual revenue streams for local governments in the 2024 provincial election. In Stretched to the Limit, we highlighted the need to address cost pressures linked to provincial service gaps and new legislative requirements in the areas of housing, infrastructure, community safety and climate action.
The report details how local governments are spending more and more in areas of provincial responsibilities without a corresponding growth in revenue. It highlights an over-reliance on the property taxation system that never contemplated funding the service delivery and infrastructure gaps linked to provincial mandates such as:
- Building new community infrastructure to support legislated housing growth;
- Funding first medical responses to those with addiction and mental health issues; and
- Subsidizing affordable housing units to tackle the affordability and homelessness crises.
UBCM has called on the next provincial government to increase annual transfers to local governments by providing:
- $650 million annually to support local capital and operating infrastructure priorities;
- Transferring a percentage of the growth in the provincial carbon tax to support local climate action projects and emergency management planning and response; and
- Transferring a percentage of the provincial property transfer tax to support local efforts in subsidizing affordable housing supply and homelessness responses.
As part of its advocacy efforts, UBCM engaged provincial parties before writ day. UBCM President, Trish Mandewo, met with BC Conservative Party Leader John Rustad and BC Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau to convey the importance of securing new revenue streams to help address local cost drivers. UBCM staff also met with party platform co-ordinators from the BC NDP, BC United and the BC Green Party to discuss the key recommendations in Stretched to the Limit.
The election priorities report received significant media coverage, and the cost pressures highlighted in the report helped frame strong coverage of the issues and challenges faced by local governments during the annual UBCM Convention.
UBCM also distributed Stretched to the Limit through to each provincial candidate to help raise awareness of the challenges local governments are facing. An election platform tracker has now been posted which compares provincial party platforms directly to UBCM’s three key election priority recommendations.
UBCM will engage the new provincial government on the three key recommendations following the election.