The purpose of the Five-Year Financial Plan is to provide a budgetary framework for the District of Sparwood to plan and manage its resources, revenues and expenditures in order to best serve the community. The first year of the plan is the current year, while following years provide a guideline, incorporating the various long-term plans and strategies.
Section 165 of the Community Charter directs that a municipality must have a financial plan that is adopted annually, by bylaw, on or before May 15th of the year in which it is to come into force and before the annual property tax bylaw is adopted. The planning period for the financial plan is 5 years, that period being the year in which the plan is to come into force and the following 4 years.
The financial plan must set out the following for each year of the planning period:
The financial plan deliberation process which precedes the adoption of the financial plan and tax rates bylaws involves a series of public meetings and is the mechanism for determining the revenue requirements and resource allocations that ultimately informs the decision on the municipal tax rate.
The District's Financial Plan provides detailed funding requirements over the next 5 years, and also articulates financial priorities and issues. It helps staff manage day-to-day operations by providing financial and policy information and by identifying financial and staffing resources available to provide services. Prior to adoption, the Plan as reviewed by Council to ensure that it was in line with Council's budget policies, development guidelines and strategic goals and objectives.
The Plan serves as a communication device that gives all readers a comprehensive look at the services provided by the District and the costs related to those services.
The Statement of Financial Information is a Public Accounts report prepared in compliance with the Financial Information Act, Statutes of British Columbia (Canada), Chapter 140. It contains a statement of assets and liabilities, operational statement, schedule of debts, schedule of guarantee and indemnity agreements, schedule showing remuneration and expenses paid to or on behalf of employees and schedule showing payments for suppliers of goods or services.
The Financial Plan provides District staff with clear direction on spending Sparwood residents. It ensures that District staff are accountable to the residents.
The Financial Plan development process begins with strategic planning and includes public consultation, extensive background briefings for Council and comprehensive discussion sessions that culminate in a proposed Five-Year Financial Plan for Council approval. It also includes a number of key budget assumptions. Using this as a basis, work plans are developed for each department, with resource needs identified. Together with the Corporate Strategic Plan, this approach to financial planning provides for a thorough, strategic focus in the budget deliberations.
Download the Five-Year Financial Plan or contact the Finance Department at 250.425.6271.
![]() | 136 Spruce Avenue Box 520 Sparwood British Columbia V0B 2G0 |
![]() | 1 250 425 6271 |
![]() | 1 250 425 7277 |
![]() | sparwood@sparwood.ca |
© 2016 District of Sparwood