Vernon May Lose Some Sidewalks

All over North America jurisdictions are facing what has been termed as Structural Deficits. Simply put, the revenue generated by fees and taxation is insufficient to maintain and replace/upgrade the infrastructure built during the unrelenting growth of the past several decades. The concept of Infrastructure deficit is more easily understood in everyday terms.

Suppose that you bought a home 25 years ago. It came with a tile roof that you were assured would last one hundred years. The home was seventy five years old when you moved in. The years pass and the roof did prove reliable. Two years ago during the rainstorm to your dismay you realize your roof is leaking and you need to replace it. The prudent and wise individual would have put a little aside each year for the inevitable expense of a new roof. If you of are like most of us there would be have nothing put aside and so you would be at the mercy of whatever financial arrangements that can be negotiated. In spite of your lack of foresight you still feel a little hard done by. You call the roofer and you are in for a shock at this size of your personal deficit.

The estimate for replacing your old roof with a new tile roof is over$ 70,000.00. Thoughts of having to take out new mortgage come to mind. Your hand is shaking as your hold the estimate. Surely there must be some other way? Your tradesman senses your dismay and offers you an alternative that in his judgement will be more palatable. Your roof could be replaced with an asphalt shingle roof at $7000. You almost hug the man.  You feel delivered and you agree to the asphalt roof. Your new roof will protect your home from the weather but does not have the same durability as the old tile roof and will need to be replaced more often. Still you are compelled to feel comfortable with your decision mainly because of your financial constraints. Council is facing a problem similar you face with the new roof.

Our elected officials see a vast number of physical infrastructures (streets, sidewalks, streetlights, buildings etc.) that will need ongoing maintenance and eventually outright replacement. Fortunately the bill does not come all at once like your fictional roof. Nevertheless with some estimates placing the deficit at over $120,000,000 one can understand the need for concern. Vernon certainly needs to work under some financial constraints. Council’s approach as I understand it aims to reduce the deficit in two ways.

Firstly to allow for a regular annual tax increase allotted only to infrastructure. The increases will eventually allow $6,000,000 annually put towards the deficit thus in effect paying it down.  Were this policy to continue the City would approach adequate funding for infrastructure but not quite. This, if I understand correctly leads to the second approach.

Remember the story about the roof. Council has asked staff to come up with less expensive alternatives that could serve well the needs of the citizens of Vernon. Less costly alternatives in replacement and maintenance infrastructure also reduce the deficit. So we see that council is working both on the funding side of maintaining our city as well as the demand side of the equation.

I think that is wise and prudent approach that council is taking with a difficult problem but it not without consequence. Let us return to your fictional new roof. It is a roof but it is not a tile roof. If the original tile roof was one the features you loved about your home of 25 years the change to asphalt shingles will be sad. Your home may lose some charm. As for Vernon we may lose some of our sidewalks.  

Cheers! Shawn Lee a Vernon Taxpayer