Every year, the Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD), like every local government in British Columbia, is required to adopt a five-year financial plan.
This plan (aka budget) shows how the CVRD will deliver and fund the essential services it provides to residents in Courtenay, Comox, Cumberland, and Electoral Areas A, B, and C.
In 2025, the CVRD delivered almost 100 services, each with its own unique budget. These include daily necessities such as water services, sewer and solid waste management, emergency services, parks management, recreation, and transportation. While in some cases services are provided to the entire regional district, most are provided to unincorporated rural communities for local area services like fire protection and planning.
Funding for the operation and infrastructure associated with each service comes from the properties and communities that participate in the service.
Planning for the future—for example, setting aside funds to replace ageing infrastructure—is just as critical. As the CVRD’s Chief Financial Officer,
Lucy Wiwcharuk, explains.
“Good planning is essential,” says Wiwcharuk. She describes the budget as “a line of sight to the future. What will we need? We work to plan this out as well as we can and still deliver the services to the community in a sustainable way.”
How it works
In January, the CVRD launched the budget process with the public and elected officials with the finance department presenting the proposed budget to the CVRD Board. The budget has been developed over the past several months by staff in all the services, while working with the finance department. Each service is reviewed, and budgets are created based on the CVRD’s board’s core service strategic priorities, approved work plans, and sound financial practices.
February is feedback time. The CVRD board, committees, and commissions review and discuss specific components of each service budget; their decisions get folded into a recommended budget that’s presented to the CVRD Board for a final discussion and any last changes. The budget must be adopted by March 31 and then submitted to the Province of BC.
When a plan comes together
Balancing today’s needs with tomorrow’s responsibilities can be a tough and complex proposition, Wiwcharuk acknowledges. As service levels continue to increase and existing assets need replacing, the CVRD’s financial plan must include both strategizing for the future and managing services needed today. “Careful attention is maintained on keeping debt low, saving responsibly for future needs and keeping tax increases stable and gradual,” she notes.
All Comox Valley residents are invited to follow the budget process by attending CVRD board meetings and/or visiting engagecomoxvalley.ca/budget to dive into the numbers. There’s even a tax calculator where you can find out what you paid in taxes the year before, an estimate of what you might pay in the current year, and, most importantly, what you get for those funds. Questions are welcome. “We want residents to be able to understand the services they receive and the costs to provide the services,” says Wiwcharuk.
