City of Surrey 2017 - 2021 Financial Plan

Contribution & Expenditure Overview

Preservation of Previous Investments in Capital

However, timely maintenance work is important. Consider, for example, the City’s extensive network of roads. Timely road repaving allows the City to avoid large scale rehabilitation work. Delaying repaving merely defers an even larger fiscal problem to future years.

Aging capital assets require more maintenance and upkeep. Major

Replacement of Worn-out or Obsolete Assets maintenance is designed to restore assets to the state they were in when the original investment was made. The need to maintain assets often receives less attention than the need for new facilities, which is understandable where the need to “re-invest” in existing infrastructure is virtually invisible to the taxpayer. The City can save costs in the long run by replacing aged assets instead of repairing or maintaining them, as newer assets are often more technologically-advanced and energy efficient. Statutory Reserve Funds are used to pay for the replacement of worn-out or obsolete assets.

Contributions from operating are normally required to pay for this maintenance work.

They are established and replenished by transferring funds from general revenue. When management decides an asset needs to be replaced, it seeks budget authority through the current year's budget process.

Meeting the Demands of Growth

Each year the City’s population increases as more people choose to call Surrey their home. This increase results in heightened demand on the City’s financial resources to pay for facilities and other capital infrastructure that meets the City’s standards and is acceptable to residents.

Surrey's total population, as of December 2016, is estimated at 526,280 residents.

New Projects

Many proposed projects compete for the City’s limited resources. The City’s capital planning process helps to prioritize new projects.

Libraries, recreation centres, and fire halls typically cost several million dollars and cannot be funded in the same way as statutory and asset maintenance projects. There are always more potential projects than there is available funding.

2017-2021 FINANCIAL PLAN

347