Community invited to virtual 2021 Budget Open House November 16

Community members are invited to bring their questions for staff and Council on the proposed Budget for 2021 which will be presented at the meeting. Presentations by staff will be broadcast live November 16 via Zoom webinar and community members will be able to join virtual breakout rooms with staff and Council members. A link to the Zoom webinar will be available at www.whistler.ca/budgetopenhouse

The RMOW carefully plans its annual and five-year budgets to manage day-to-day services and operations, projects and infrastructure investments and take into consideration the longer term strategy, challenges and vision for Whistler. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the RMOW’s revenues and operating costs as facilities were forced to close and services and programs were suspended. It is projected that operating municipal buildings, facilities and providing services will cost more in 2021 as well, because of increased COVID-19 expenses such as providing personal protective equipment and more frequent cleaning and sanitation requirements.

Whistler’s budget documents will be available online November 12 at www.whistler.ca/budget

“We rely on the community’s feedback to build a budget each year that reflects our current reality as well as our future needs in Whistler,” said Mayor Jack Crompton. “COVID-19 continues to significantly impact our operations and revenue projections so it is more important than ever that we hear from the community about how we spend your tax dollars in 2021. I encourage all residents to join us on November 16 or, take a few moments to watch the presentations online after the Budget Open House at www.whistler.ca/budgetopenhouse when they are able to.”

Community feedback

There are many other ways to stay involved in the community planning processes:

Find 2019 budget information and updates at whistler.ca/budget
Contact members of Council at whistler.ca/contact
Attend council meetings or watch council meetings online at whistler.ca/council
Stay in touch on Facebook or Twitter
Sign up for news from the municipality at whistler.ca/subscribe

Budget Community Meeting Schedule

Monday November 16, 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. (Presentations at 5:30 p.m.)

Zoom link at www.whistler.ca/budgetopenhouse

5:30 to 6:15 p.m. Presentations

6:15 to 6:30 p.m. Question and Answer

6:30 to 6:50 p.m. Breakout rooms via Zoom

6:50 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Closing remarks

Following the budget community meeting, there will be further refinements of the proposed project and operating budgets, and budget guidelines will be developed by staff to be presented at the December 1 regular council meeting. The community will be able to submit feedback on the 2021 Budget until December 1. The Five-Year Financial Plan Bylaw is tentatively scheduled for the first three readings by Council on December 15 and adoption in January 2021. The Tax Rate Bylaws are scheduled for the first three readings by Council before May 15 2021.

The RMOW annual budget helps to inform the annual Corporate Plan, both of which are guided by the overall community vision and Official Community Plan (OCP). To ensure progress towards this vision, there are established key performance indicators on a wide variety of social, environmental, and economic factors. The annual Community Life Survey is one of the key ways that we check in with the community each year and results are incorporated into the monitoring program. To learn more, visit www.whistler.ca/monitoring