MAKE EVERY DOLLAR COUNT

Every tax dollar Cranbrook spends is earned by someone. We owe it to you to understand where it’s going, why it’s needed, and whether it’s working.

Grow the Pie is about who helps pay. Make Every Dollar Count is about how we spend.

Cranbrook’s municipal tax levy has risen more than 25 points over four years. Costs are real: water, roads, RCMP, Fire, downloaded social services. So is the duty to treat that money as if it still belongs to the person who earned it.

HEAD: Where is the money going

Cranbrook has a priority problem. We have a Five-Year Financial Plan, a Strategic Plan, an Official Community Plan, a Housing Plan and stacks of capital projects. Gold Creek Dam. Phillips Reservoir. Roads.

Recreation. Policing. Plus healthcare and housing-adjacent costs the province has parked at City Hall.

And they all draw from the same pool.

These are not separate files. Operating costs, capital projects, reserves, grants and tax rates are pieces of the same pie.

Every major spend should go through the same filters I propose for housing, safety and economic development: COST - What does it cost now, and what does it cost to own for twenty years? What can partners pay?

CAPACITY - Can staff actually deliver it this year without dropping something we already promised?

LEVERAGE - Does this dollar unlock outside money, fix more than one problem, or only move a line from one budget to another?

Then prioritize. Council should be able to tell Cranbrook the five most important things we are funding for four years, what they cost, how we are paying, and how we will know they worked. A budget that lists everything is not a plan. A plan clearly names what waits; has measurable results built in;, and a scorecard for along the way.

HANDS: Spend like it is yours - Because it is

Name the key priorities and stick to them. The Financial Plan should not be a wish list that resets every spring. Say what we are doing, what we are not doing yet, and why.

Tell the truth about operating versus capital. A new facility that we cannot staff or maintain is not a win. A dam, a treatment plant or a road is not finished when the ribbon is cut. Budget the life of the asset, not just the build.

Buy local where it makes sense. Local firms pay local wages and local taxes. When quality, price and timing are close, keep the dollar working here. When they are not, do not pretend a bad purchase is community spirit. Be honest about the trade-off.

Chase outside money - then account for it. Grants from the province, Ottawa, Columbia Basin Trust, UBCM and PacifiCan are not free. They come with conditions, staff time and sometimes a local match.

Bring them home when they serve a named priority. Chase grants keep Cranbrook on its list. Be prepared when opportunities come available.

Document what Victoria downloads. Mental-health care, addiction treatment, supportive housing and parts of policing sit on provincial books and land on municipal ones. Write the cost down. Take it to Victoria. We can no longer quietly absorb these costs and then wonder why the levy climbed.

A Public Scorecard. Make reporting clear and transparent. Residents should not need a finance degree to see where the levy went. A public scorecard: what we said we would fund, what it cost, what got done, what slipped, how much came from growth or grants instead of a higher rate.

Measure results, not activity. Meetings held and plans written are not outcomes! Did the road last? Did the grant land? Did the program change a number we told you we would change? When we spend public money, Cranbrook should be able to clearly see whether it worked.

HEART: It was earned before it is spent

Money talk gets buried in words like levy, assist factor and capital reserves. But it’s the impact these words have that matters: Whether a senior on a fixed income can keep the house.

Whether a small business can make payroll after the tax notice arrives.

Whether the pool, the rink and the water system are still standing for the next family.

Whether we asked you for more because we grew the work - or because we didn’t.

I want a Cranbrook where my grandchildren - and yours - choose to stay, put down roots, and thrive.

They will inherit the pipes, the debt and the habits we set now.

Every tax dollar was earned by someone. Spend it like that is true.