Every year, local governments must have their financial statements independently audited. Langley City engaged Kristine Simpson from BDO Canada as our auditor. As is normal, the auditor found that our financial statements were accurate.
Early this year, I posted about net financial assets (or debt). This is a key metric that shows a local government has the finances to continue delivering services and investing in infrastructure. In 2025, Langley City had $51.3 million in net financial assets, a slight decrease of $0.3 million from 2024. This is still a positive indicator.
Another key metric is accumulated surplus. This metric shows how much money the City has in its savings accounts to fund infrastructure projects, and how much in tangible assets, such as roads, land, and buildings, the City has on the books. The City increased its accumulated surplus by $27.4 million to $405.9 million in 2025. About $5.1 million was transferred to reserve savings accounts. The remainder was the “on the books” value of new or renewed infrastructure. Generally, if the “on the books” value is increasing, it means a local government is maintaining or expanding infrastructure such as roads, pipes, parks, and facilities. If the number is going down, it means that a local government is not keeping up.
Every year, the operating budget will have a variance between what is budgeted and what is actually spent. Local governments in BC have to budget conservatively because they cannot run a deficit. One of the primary drivers for Langley City’s $5.1 million surplus was labour costs. When new positions are added that take time to hire, such as additional firefighters, or people leave their jobs, it temporarily reduces labour costs.
Some of the areas where the City exceeded budgeted cost were on recreation programs due to increased demand, snow removal, streetlight and signal repair, park maintenance, garbage removal, vandalism repair, homeless camp cleanup, and legal fees. Again, there was an overall surplus in 2025.
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