City of Williams Lake shows residents their tax dollars at work for 2019

According to Williams Lake Mayor Walt Cobb, the financial portion of the City of Williams Lake’s 2019 Annual Report and Audited Financial Statements saw the same positives as the report itself. 

In 2019 the City collected a total of $33.2 million in revenue, with $28,6 million in expenses, totalling a $4.6 million surplus for the City. 

The City was also able to bring its total debt to $9.3 million down from $10.3 million and saw its financial assets increased by over $4.2 million from 2018 to 2019.  

“I think we have done an excellent job, we can always do better, but I think we have done a great job when you look at the finances when you look at where we are, and how we compare to other communities,” Cobb said. “We are in good shape, and we were able to get a lot of work done that we wouldn’t be able to do if we had to borrow the money.” 

The City has several sources of revenue to fund the services it provides. Tax dollars were the largest source (over 44%) of funding for municipal services. Water and sewer services contribute a further 11%, airport services 7%, and recreation and cultural services 4%. 

Where the City’s revenue came from in 2019:

• Taxation – $14.7 million 
• Other Own Source – $3.9 million 
• Water/Sewer Fees – $3.7 million 
• Services to Other Governments – $3.7 million 
• Grants – $2.9 million 
• Airport – $2.4 million 
• Recreation and Culture – $1.5 million 
• Developer Contributions – $0.3 million 

The City provides a range of essential services to its residents, including maintenance of streets, sidewalks and lights, and water and sewer infrastructure. The City also offers public works services, police and fire protection services, transportation services such as local transit and airport, and operates recreation and cultural facilities and provides development services to assist businesses.  

Where the City spent their money in 2019:

• Protective Services – $6.7 million 
• Recreation and Culture – $5.4 million 
• Transportation Services, and Airport – $4.8 million 
• Amortization (an accounting technique used to periodically lower the book value of a loan or intangible asset over a set period) – $4.3 million 
• General Government Services – $3.6 million 
• Water/Sewer – $1.6 million 
• Garbage Collection – $1.3 million 
• Development Services – $0.9 million 

City taxpayers also pay $8.6 million of taxes to other jurisdictions such as local schools, the Cariboo Regional District, the regional hospital, and B.C. Assessment and Municipal Finance Authority Service