Wednesday, January 27, 2021

A look at Langley City’s proposed 2021 capital project budget

On Monday afternoon, Langley City staff presented the 2021 budget to council. As I posted yesterday, the proposed 2021 operating budget is $48.3 million, and the proposed capital budget is $18.8 million.

The capital budget funds projects and initiatives that do not occur annually or that create or significantly improve a real thing.

Capital budget funding comes from multiple sources.

As I noted yesterday, $7.5 million will be funded from a loan to purchase strategic property to support the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain project. If the SkyTrain project doesn’t move forward, the land purchased will still allow the City to shape growth to build a walkable and transit-oriented city. The purchased land would also allow the City to create amenities such as parks and other civic amenities such as a performing arts centre. I am confident the province will build SkyTrain to Langley.

The remaining $11.3 million of the proposed 2021 capital budget is 75% funded from the casino revenue reserve, grants from the provincial and federal governments and TransLink, and developer contributions.

The casino was closed for most of 2020, and we are planning for the casino to be close in 2021. The City does not spend all casino revenue in the year it is received. This conservative approach is why the City can use $3 million in casino revenue to help fund the proposed 2021 capital budget.

Some of the larger projects include:

  • Renew sewer infrastructure $2.1 million
  • Renew water infrastructure - $1.7 million
  • Upgrade baseball diamonds and sports fields at City Park - $1.7 million
  • Repave roads throughout the City - $1.5 million
  • Purchase a new Fire Rescue Service Rescue 1 vehicle - $856,000
  • Complete bike lanes on the 208th Street Causeway - $679,705
  • Replace the pedestrian bridge in the floodplain by 206 Street - $400,000
  • Renew the sports court at Portage Park - $200,000

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