Growing Communities Fund Allocation Approach
On February 10, 2023, the Province of BC announced the new Growing Communities Fund (GCF), a onetime total of $1 billion in allocated grant funding for all BC municipalities and regional districts. The principal objective of the GCF is to increase the local housing supply with investments in community infrastructure and amenities. The District of North Saanich received a $4,459,000 grant under the GCF.
As a condition of funding, the District of North Saanich has established a segregated reserve fund for the capital and planning purposes of the GCF and the interest earned on the fund will be tracked and allocated back to the Fund. The District reported on the usage of funds in 2023 in a separate schedule to the Financial Statements for the year ending December 31, 2023.
In September 2023, North Saanich Council adopted an approach for allocating the Growing Communities Fund which involved allocating 90% of the funding to high priority projects that do not have dedicated funding sources. Over the next five years, Council has allocated over $3.7 million in GCF funding to active transportation projects, road and stormwater improvements and water and sewer infrastructure upgrades.
10% of the GCF was identified by Council to be dedicated to new amenities for the community. The District engaged the public to determine which amenities were desired through the 2024 budget engagement survey and through an open house held in February 2024. Public engagement results on how the 10% allocation of the GCF could be spent were presented at a public meeting of the Budget Committee held March 22, 2024. Results showed that investments in public safety/emergency management amenities and local road improvements topped the list of ways to allocate the grant funds.
Engagements results are summarized below:
The 2024 budget deliberations did not result in a decision by Council to allocate the 10% of grant funds to a specific project and this portion of the funds remain in the reserve for future allocation.
As upcoming projects are presented and considered by Council, the engagement results from this process will be considered for alignment with the desired use of the GCF.
The GCF Allocation Approach approved by Council is outlined in Growing Community Fund Staff Report (Sep 25, 2023).
For additional information on the Growing Communities Fund, visit the province’s website https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/local-governments/grants-transfers/grants/bc-s-growing-communities-fund
