WHEREAS provincial unconditional grant eligibility for regional districts is based on population; AND WHEREAS local governments must prepare five-year financial plans to project revenue and expenses; AND WHEREAS regional districts desire certainty concerning forecast revenue in the form of unconditional provincial grants: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Province utilize federal census information to determine regional district grant eligibility.
MINISTRY OF COMMUNITY, ABORIGINAL AND WOMENS SERVICES Regional district basic grant allocations are calculated annually in accordance with the Local Government Grants Regulations. The allocation formula provides one of three grant amounts based on a populations jurisdiction. The population estimates provided by BC Statistics for these calculations are the most reliable third-party data available at the time of the calculation. These population estimates are based on census data Provincial population estimates obtained from Statistics Canada and are continually revised as additional regional population indicators such as residential electrical accounts and Old Age Security recipients as they become available. While BC Statistics continues to revise its population estimates, after the annual grant calculation date the Ministry freezes the population estimates for grant allocation purposes in order to provide certainty to grant recipients that all announced grant allocations will be paid out. While re-assessment of grant eligibility might improve the allocation to one regional district, it may also reduce or eliminate an allocation to others.