Taxpayer alert: Final Public Consultation on the City's Financial Plan
By Sara Golling
At 4:3o on Monday, April 20, at Rossland City Hall, citizens have a final opportunity to learn more about and provide input on the City’s draft 2026 – 2030 Financial Plan.
The Plan is available on the City’s website for all who want to learn more about where all those tax dollars go, and why. And for those who have thoughts on how the City could be saving more money and cutting taxes (or at least, not raising them very much) without cutting services — or thoughts on which services the City should trim.
The final decision is up to Council, but Council does appreciate thoughts and suggestions from people who have taken the time to read and understand the material the City has published over the past year about the budget, the infrastructure deficit, the priority of projects needed (such as those dubious retaining walls, and the sewer line to Warfield). Councillors appreciate hearing from citizens about what’s most important, or least important, to them in terms of City services.
Council gave the draft Financial Plan first reading at the last regular Council meeting, and the timeline calls for adoption in early May of the bylaw that will put it into effect.
Observers have noted that the number of citizens who show up at public meetings about the budget, about the Financial Plan and taxation, usually seems quite small, considering the importance of the matter of how the City manages the money it is tasked with spending on behalf of all of us who live here.
So, if anyone has anything to say about that, now is the time to send a well-thought-out email, or to show up at the meeting on April 20.
