Like every city in the country, Vancouver is facing a choice between wants and needs. An economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic is forcing difficult decisions for the present and the future.
The city council last week made the easy and unavoidable decision to scuttle A Stronger Vancouver, an ambitious tax-and-spend proposal for expanding city services. Now come questions about which existing services will survive, how residents will pay for them, and the future of the city.
A Stronger Vancouver, developed over two years of deliberations, included proposed capital projects and enhanced city services. They represented the kind of things a city should, indeed, consider when coffers are flush, as they were prior to COVID-19 — new parks and fire stations, enhanced homelessness services and a revived public arts program. They also represented the kind of things that can become an afterthought when belt-tightening is necessary, as it is in the wake of the pandemic.
That requires quick decisions from local leaders. City budgets have been ravaged by a downturn in tax collections — especially sales-tax revenue — caused by an economic shutdown. While the most recent economic downturn, the Great Recession of 2007-09, was like a quick but steady journey down a steep incline, COVID-19 is more akin to walking off a cliff in terms of city revenue.
Vancouver officials are budgeting for a revenue decline of at least $30 million and perhaps as much as $60 million this year. In April, Chad Eiken, director of community economic development, said: “At the management level, we’re all just trying to get our arms around, ‘What does this mean?’ Things are evolving so fast, it feels like almost every day there’s some new piece of information or something we have to adjust to.”
Little has changed since then, with Vancouver only recently being allowed to partially reopen restaurants and many other businesses. It will take time to sort out the economic damage caused by the shutdown ordered to protect public health.
Meanwhile, other cities in the area are facing similar conundrums. Camas is projecting a revenue decline of 9 percent to 15 percent, and La Center is preparing for a 30 percent reduction. In Battle Ground, where a high percentage of businesses qualified as “essential” and remained open through the depths of the pandemic, the decline is projected to be 7 percent.
Meanwhile, the budget of Clark County, which provides some services for various cities, also will take a hit.
Vancouver’s approved budget for the 2019-20 biennium is $1.2 billion. About $334 million of that is in the general fund, with $147 million in the capital fund for construction projects. The fire fund is $91 million and the street fund $33 million. A glimpse of the budget at the city’s website can be instructive for taxpayers interested in where their dollars are going.
As officials consider necessary adjustments to that budget, public safety, water and sewer, and streets are essential services that residents notice on a daily basis. But there are less obvious needs, as well. Planning and economic development, for example, are essential for maintaining a livable city and helping us recover from the coronavirus recession. For another example, the building inspection fund is a worthy investment in infrastructure.
The proposal named “A Stronger Vancouver” is a necessary victim of budget shortfalls. The goal now is to keep Vancouver strong through challenging times.
