How does the Regional District provide a new service or discontinue an existing one?
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Local Services
Local Services are:
- sewage disposal
- street lighting
- water systems
- TV rebroadcasting or closed circuit TV
- garbage collection and disposal
- transit
- regulation, storage and management of municipal solid waste and recyclable materials
- cemeteries
- airports
- capital financing for services by a telephone, natural gas or electric power utility
- community parks
- recreation and community use services
- fire prevention and suppression
- library service
Before the Regional District can provide a local service, the residents must consent to it.
The costs may be allocated and taxes levied using several methods: land only, improvements only, land and improvements combined, parcel tax or frontage tax. The residents must give their approval to the method chosen if it is anything other than land and improvements combined.
The approval given by the residents contains an upper tax limit for the service. That limit cannot be exceeded and can only be increased with the approval of the residents. Long term borrowing must be authorized by the residents as well.
What is approval by the residents?
There are four methods that the residents of an area can give their approval to start a service. However, there is no mechanism in place for the residents to withdraw their approval, once given. Once approval is given, the Board can then establish the service but it is not obligated to establish it.
Referendum
The residents are asked to vote either "yes" or "no" to a establish a new service or to amend an existing one. All residents of an area are entitled to vote provided they meet citizenship, age and residency requirements. They do not have to own property.
Regardless of the number of votes cast, it there are more "yes" than "no", the Board is able to establish the service. This is the most expensive approval process.
Petition
With a petition, only the property owners get a say as to whether or not a service is established. The petition must be signed by at least two thirds of the property owners who, among them own property valued at least half of the total property value in the proposed area.
This is an inexpensive way for the residents to show support for a service they wish the Regional District to provide for them.
Counter Petition
If the Board wishes to seek approval by counter petition, the proposed bylaw must be advertised and a form made available for objectors to sign. The electors have 30 days after the last advertisement to object to the proposal. If fewer than 5% of the eligible voters object, approval is deemed to have been given. If between 5% and 50% of the voters object, the Board must proceed to referendum. If more than 50% of the voters object , the initiative is defeated.
The counter petition can only be used to establish lower cost services (maximum $0.50 per $1,000 assessed values) or to establish services for sewage disposal, water systems or garbage collection or disposal.
Consent on Behalf of Electors
The Board, with the Electoral Area Director's agreement, can give approval on behalf of the electors to proceed with establishing a new service if the new service covers the entire electoral area and no borrowing is required. In this case, the electors would not be asked to approve the new service.
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