VANCOUVER

The City of Vancouver has released its Annual Procurement Report for 2023, highlighting the city's procurement activities, savings, and sustainable initiatives. The report covers the period from January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023.

• The City awarded $478,599,975 in contracts in 2023, resulting in $34,815,536 (~7%) in procurement savings.
• Council approved 18 contracts valued at $311 million, and the Bid Committee approved 49 contracts valued at $350 million.
• 87.3% of contracts were awarded through a competitive bid process, and 12.7% were sole sourced under the Procurement Policy provisions.
• The City generated $1,580,922 in revenue through the auctioning of surplus assets.

• The City's Sustainable Procurement program focuses on supporting Council priorities and strategies, including the Climate Emergency Action Plan and Healthy City Strategy.

The Vancouver Police Board has submitted a revised 2024 provisional budget, which includes a $393,000 increase for Board administration and operations. The City Council is considering two options to address this budget change.

• Approve the $393,000 increase, for a total 2024 Vancouver Police Board budget of $442,366,688 in expenditures and $30,266,454 in revenues.

• Approve the $393,000 increase and authorize the Board to reallocate funding within the approved 2024 operating budget to accommodate this increase.

• The Police Act constrains the City's discretion over the policing budget, and the Board may require sufficient capacity to fulfill its governance responsibilities.
• The $393,000 increase was not included in the approved 7.5% property tax increase, and if Option B is adopted, the incremental funding could be managed as a one-time 2024 expense.
• If Council adopts Option B and the Board contests the decision, the matter could be referred to the Director of Police Services for a binding determination.

• The Council will consider the options at the Standing Committee on City Finance and Services meeting on April 24, 2024.
• The Council approved the 2024 operating budget, including the Vancouver Police Department budget, on December 12, 2023.

The City of Vancouver has commissioned a review of its property tax policy, with the first phase completed by Ernst & Young LLP. The review aims to assess the city's property tax policy, effectiveness of mitigation tools, tax share approach, and other metrics to gauge Vancouver's business climate and competitiveness compared to neighboring municipalities.

• The review found no compelling evidence to warrant a tax shift between non-residential and residential property classes at this time.
• The review examined a portfolio of non-residential and residential metrics, as well as recent economic development, and the City's expert advisors agree with the conclusion.
• The review was conducted in two phases, with Phase I delivered in time to inform Council's deliberation on the 2024 tax distribution.

• April 24, 2024: The Council's Standing Committee on City Finance and Services will receive the report for information.
• The City Manager concurs with the recommendations in the report.

The City of Vancouver is reviewing the financial performance of the Mountain View Cemetery Master Plan and proposing a new phase of development. The report outlines the need for ongoing operating contributions to support the long-term care and maintenance of the cemetery.

• Phase 1 generated $40.2 million in revenue, with $27.3 million from new space sales and $7.7 million in new Care Fund contributions.
• The anticipated sales volume and revenues were not fully realized.

• Phase 2 will create over 6,200 new interment spaces over 15 years, with an estimated $12 million in capital costs.
• The financial plan projects $65 million in revenues, including over $11 million in Care Fund contributions.

• The Care Fund principal has increased from under $3 million to over $10 million since the cemetery reopened in 2008.
• Ongoing operating contributions: Needed to support the long-term care and maintenance of the cemetery.

The City of Vancouver is considering extending a pilot program that provides property tax relief for eligible Light Industry (Class 5) and Business and Other (Class 6) properties. Additionally, the city plans to continue using targeted 5-year land assessment averaging for Residential (Class 1), Light Industry (Class 5), and Business and Other (Class 6) properties in 2024.

• Pilot program: The city is seeking to extend the pilot development potential relief program (Pilot DPRP) in 2024 for eligible Class 5 and Class 6 properties, as authorized by the Vancouver Charter.
• The program would tax a portion of the assessed land value (up to $5.4 million) at a 50% lower general purpose tax rate than the blended rate for Classes 5 and 6.
• The Director of Legal Services and Director of Finance are instructed to bring forward a by-law to enact the program.

• The city plans to continue the targeted 5-year land assessment averaging program in 2024 for Class 1, Class 5, and Class 6 properties.
• The program will use a 10% threshold above the property class average change to define eligibility for targeted averaging.
• Averaging will not result in a year-over-year change below the 10% threshold or a reduction in values exceeding $5.4 million for eligible Class 5 and 6 properties.
• Properties impacted by a Director of Planning-initiated zoning or policy change will be considered for targeted averaging, while properties that received relief under the Pilot DPRP will not be eligible.
• The Director of Legal Services and Director of Finance are instructed to bring forward a by-law to authorize the use of targeted averaging.

If approved, the overall impact would be a ~0.2% increase to the Class 1 tax rate and a ~1.8% increase to the blended Class 5/6 tax rate (to be finalized based on the 2024 Revised Assessment Roll) in order to collect the same amount of general purpose tax levies from those classes.

The document presents the 2024 Draft Budget for a city council, focusing on maintaining existing service levels while managing fiscal pressures and enhancing capital project delivery.

• 2024 Property Tax Increase: Forecasted at 7.6%, down from the initial 9.5% projection, achieved through additional non-tax revenues and efficiencies in city processes.
• Capital Budget: $1.25 billion for existing projects, with new requests totaling $368 million. Prioritizing infrastructure renewal and growth, with an emphasis on sewer and water main renewal and capital maintenance.
• Operating Budget: $2.2 billion, a 9.8% increase from 2023, supported by property tax and utility fee increases.
• Revenue Generation: Initiatives include fee optimization and expansion of short-term revenue opportunities.
• Service Delivery: Focus on maintaining infrastructure and public amenities, with an increase in staffing for firefighters and police officers.

The council will consider this budget on December 12, 2023.