The Sea to Sky Regional Hospital District (SSRHD) has asked staff to prepare a 2025 budget with a 50-per-cent tax requisition increase in an effort to pay for new equipment, a potential community services hub in Pemberton’s Harrow Road development and future health-care infrastructure upgrades in the region.
, which would generate $1,982,166 for the SSRHD in 2025 based on a rate of $3.60 per $100,000 assessed value. Director Jen Ford made a successful motion asking staff to prepare a budget with a requisition increase of 50 per cent, amounting to approximately $4.40 per $100,000.
“I would far rather smooth the increases over the next several years knowing that big expenses are coming,” said Ford. “And I know it's tough right now and people are struggling under the costs of everything, but this is something that we’ve underfunded for years.
“If we as this board can put some meaningful money away so that we can be ready for some bigger spends in the next five years, I think that’s a prudent thing for us to consider."
The SSRHD can't directly tax properties. Instead, it like the one discussed during the January meeting.
The Sea to Sky has a lower requisition rate than other regional hospital districts with similar populations, including the , , and . Those comparatively lower levels inspired staff to push for a 25-per-cent increase. Deputy director of finance Colin Hudgens noted it would take a 228-per-cent increase in the requisition levels for the SSRHD to match the next highest hospital district's rate per $100K of assessed value.
New items in the 2025 budget
Staff are recommending the increase to help pay for two new funding requests for 2025.
The first is Vancouver Coastal Health's (VCH) request to cover 40 per cent of the cost of a digital X-ray system in the Pemberton Health Clinic (PHC) and replacement portable X-rays in Squamish General Hospital and the PHC—amounting to $814,535 from the SSRHD.
The next project is more tenuous; the has requested $1,000,000 from the SSRHD to pay for a new community hub on its main floor. The proposed hub aims to “bring together [Sea to Sky Community Services Society] programs, services and partnership that strengthen people and held build a healthier, more connected and better supported community for everyone.”
The hurdle is the SSHRD is only permitted to make financial contributions to facilities designated as a health/medical facility by the Ministry of Health, according to staff. Harrow Road has not yet obtained that designation, and it’s unclear how far along they are in the process.
SSRHD chair and Squamish Councillor Jenna Stoner raised a concern about uncertainty around whether or not the Harrow Road Project would receive certification, enabling the transfer of funds. If it fails to “get across the line,” the $1,000,000 earmarked for the project would likely sit in the SSRHD’s reserves.
Points of contention
Two projects without specific funding requests were also included in the discussion as "additional items for future consideration." Those items—additional buildings for the Whistler Health Care Centre and PHC—provided a sticking point for director Chris Pettingill, who referred to the project parameters as "amorphous."
“My sense of municipal regional governance is generally we don’t tax for things unless there's sort of an immediate identified need,” said Pettingill. “We know in general there’s a need for a lot more resources and funding for health-care, but we seem to be maybe leaning towards a larger increase knowing that there’s probably something very big out there but none of it’s been identified”
In response, Ford said while it’s important to pay for the specific, immediate projects asked for by VCH and Harrow Road, the projected growth in the region means it is important to start saving now for the necessary increases in health-care infrastructure to meet that growing population.
"My sense is that it's less shocking to the taxpayer to start to build up a little bit more of a reserve," she said.
Whistler Mayor Jack Crompton noted the proposed addition to the Whistler Health Facility would be "orders of magnitude over" what the SSRHD had invested in before and would therefore require more funds than previously allocated.
"I think it's wise to grow this reserve with the intention of investing it in the health priorities of the residents of the Sea to Sky," said Crompton, motioning his support for the 50-per-cent increase.
"It’s not coming from Victoria, as far as I'm concerned, meaning the priorities that we have as a region aren’t being prioritized. This is one way that we can pull them towards the things that matter to residents."
Pemberton Mayor Mike Richman found himself in the middle; while he acknowledged the Village of Pemberton and the region at large needs to build up its health-care capacity, he warned the board not to ignore other tax burdens on residents.
“I think we need to keep affordability in mind here—it's death by a thousand cuts," said Richman. "I think we need to think of the cumulative effect [of taxes].
"I totally agree with the direction, but 50 per cent doesn’t feel gradual,"
50-per-cent requisition
Ford’s motion passed, with Richman and Pettingail opposed to the 50-per-cent increase. At the SSRHD’s February meeting, the board will evaluate the 50-per-cent increase in a draft budget.
A separate successful motion asked staff to incorporate the VCH requests and Harrow Road project in the 2025 budget.
The Sea to Sky Regional Hospital District exists to borrow funds and finance construction projects and equipment purchases at health-care facilities within its jurisdiction, including Whistler, Pemberton, Squamish and SLRD Areas C and D.
