Deep Dive: Preparing for Tomorrow – Financial and Economic Strength
Point Form Summary
- We can’t predict every challenge or opportunity Vernon will face, but we can make choices now that leave us better able to respond to an unknown future.
- Some disruptions are already here. Smoke can affect tourism and outdoor businesses, while wildfire, drought and heat create difficulties for forestry and agriculture.
- The City needs well-managed reserves and enough financial flexibility to respond without putting essential services at risk.
- Before approving major infrastructure, Council should consider not only whether we can build it, but whether we can afford to operate, maintain and eventually replace it.
- Vernon should use Business Walks and other existing outreach to identify recurring municipal barriers and follow up on what can be changed.
- As the North Okanagan’s economic centre, Vernon should work with regional partners on shared priorities such as employment land, transportation, tourism and workforce needs.
- A varied economy leaves us less vulnerable. The City can support that variety by preserving employment land, providing reliable infrastructure and avoiding unnecessary municipal barriers.
- My goal is for Vernon to enter uncertain times from a position of strength while remaining open to new opportunities.evidence or a better argument emerges.
The last several years have shown us how quickly circumstances can change.
Smoke can keep visitors away and hurt restaurants, shops and outdoor recreation. Wildfire, drought and changing forest conditions affect forestry. Drought and heat create new costs and uncertainty for agriculture. The pandemic disrupted businesses, employment and supply chains in ways few of us anticipated.
Future challenges will take different forms. New technologies, industries and ways of working will also create opportunities.
The City can’t control the wider economy or prevent every disruption. It can maintain sound finances and infrastructure, create clear conditions for investment, and work with regional partners to strengthen our ability to respond to an unknown future.
Maintain room to respond
When something unexpected happens, the City needs enough financial flexibility to respond without abandoning essential services or imposing sudden, unaffordable tax increases.
Vernon is currently reviewing its reserve policies. That work should make clear what each reserve is for, how much it should normally contain, when the money can be used and how it will be replenished.
Reserves shouldn’t grow without a reason, but they also shouldn’t be used simply to avoid a difficult budget decision. Using one-time money to pay for an ongoing service only postpones the problem until the money runs out.
Borrowing can be responsible when it spreads the cost of a long-lasting asset across the people who will benefit from it. But Council should understand the full cost, the effect of interest payments and how much borrowing capacity will remain for future needs.
I explore these choices more fully in my deep dive on property taxes. The important point here is that responsible financial management does more than balance a budget. It preserves our ability to act when circumstances change.
For major commitments, Council should ask what happens if costs rise, grants don’t arrive or expected growth and revenue fall short. It should also consider whether a decision preserves future options or locks the City into costs that will be difficult to change.
Look after what we already own
Roads, pipes, buildings, parks and other public infrastructure support daily life and the local economy. When they fail, the cost isn’t limited to the repair itself. Businesses may lose customers, transportation can be disrupted and essential services may be interrupted. And when our infrastructure fails, Vernon’s ability to respond to shocks is weakened.
Vernon’s 2024 Organizational Asset Management Plan estimates that the City is funding about 75 per cent of the long-term cost of replacing its general infrastructure. That’s a major improvement from the 27 per cent estimated before the infrastructure levy began, but a gap remains.
We can help contain those future costs by maintaining infrastructure before it fails, focusing first on the most serious risks and coordinating work so the same road isn’t repeatedly dug up.
But maintenance alone won’t close the funding gap. We’ll also need to gradually increase the money available for infrastructure renewal and replacement. This will mean a small, gradual increase in taxes to ensure we can fund future work. Next year may not be the time to reintroduce the infrastructure levy, but the longer we wait, the more the gap is likely to grow.
Finally, before approving any new infrastructure, Council should understand:
- the full construction cost and how it will be funded;
- the annual cost of operating and maintaining it;
- when major repairs or replacement will be needed;
- and whether those costs remain manageable under different growth and revenue assumptions.
The question isn’t just, “Can we afford to build it?” It is also, “Can we afford to own it?”
Start with the businesses already here
When it comes to strengthening our local economy, attracting new investment matters. At the same time, the businesses already here have hired local people, built relationships and invested in our community. Nurturing the conditions in which they can remain, adapt and grow is at least as important as recruiting new businesses.
The City already connects with businesses through its annual Business Walks and other economic-development work. Business Walks are conducted with partners including Community Futures North Okanagan, the Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Vernon Association and Okanagan College.
That outreach should identify recurring concerns such as:
- municipal approval processes that are unclear or unnecessarily slow;
- transportation, access or construction problems;
- a lack of suitable commercial or industrial space;
- infrastructure gaps;
- and workforce or housing concerns that require a broader response.
Business Walks should lead to a targeted follow-up: what the City can change, what it will refer to other partners and what action businesses can expect.
This doesn’t mean the City should advise individual businesses or compensate them when economic conditions change. Community Futures, business organizations and other agencies are better equipped to provide financing, training and business-development support.
The City’s role is to listen, address municipal barriers, provide reliable information and connect businesses with the organizations able to help.
Support the regional economy
Vernon is the economic anchor of the North Okanagan, serving a regional population of more than 100,000. People cross municipal boundaries every day to work, shop, study, receive health care and use services.Transportation, tourism, agriculture, manufacturing, water infrastructure and employment land all benefit from regional cooperation.
We should work with neighbouring governments, the Okanagan Indian Band and regional partners to:
- maintain shared information about available employment land;
- identify transportation and infrastructure gaps affecting the region;
- coordinate tourism promotion and workforce planning;
- and pursue provincial or federal funding when a joint proposal makes the strongest case.
Cooperation doesn’t mean Vernon should take on costs that belong to others. It’s vital that responsibilities and contributions among regional partners be made clear. But working together can attract opportunities and investment that no single community could secure on its own.
A stronger regional economy expands the workforce, suppliers and customer base available to Vernon businesses.
Make room for a varied and changing economy
Vernon benefits from a broad mix of health care, education, construction, manufacturing, agriculture, forestry, tourism, retail, technology and professional services. When one sector slows, others may remain stable or grow.
We don’t know which industries or technologies will shape Vernon 10 or 20 years from now, and the City shouldn’t try to pick the winners. Its role is to provide reliable services, clear rules and suitable places for different kinds of work.
That means:
- preserving enough appropriately located and serviced employment land;
- allowing flexible commercial and light-industrial spaces in suitable locations;
- planning transportation, utilities and digital infrastructure with changing business needs in mind;
- and providing clear information about available sites and approval requirements.
Once employment land is converted to other uses, it can be difficult to replace. Before approving a conversion, Council should understand how much employment land Vernon needs and what opportunities could be lost.
Clear plans also make it easier to respond when a business is considering Vernon. The City should be able to provide reliable information about suitable land, available services and approval requirements. Its role is to create clear conditions and a timely process—not to develop the business proposal or take on its commercial risk.
Community Futures, educational institutions and business organizations are better equipped to provide training, financing and direct business-development support. The City should work with those partners while concentrating on the municipal barriers and infrastructure within its control.
When a proposal seeks rezoning, an incentive, public land or significant City investment, Council should consider whether the public contribution is likely to produce a lasting benefit—such as stable employment, better use of serviced land or infrastructure that supports other businesses as well.
Quality of life matters too. Housing, recreation, arts and culture, natural surroundings and a healthy downtown all help employers attract and retain people. Building a community where people want to live is one of the most important ways the City can support long-term economic strength.
My approach
Preparing for tomorrow doesn’t mean trying to predict exactly what will happen.
It means looking after what we have, maintaining enough financial room to respond and understanding the long-term costs of our decisions. It means listening to the businesses already invested here, addressing municipal barriers and working with our regional neighbours where cooperation makes us stronger.
It also means making room for new kinds of work and having priority projects ready when appropriate funding opportunities arise.
The City shouldn’t try to run businesses, select the industries of the future or take risks that properly belong to private investors. Its job is to provide sound infrastructure, clear rules, reliable services and a community where people and businesses want to stay.
We can’t prevent every setback or control the wider economy. But we can make sure Vernon enters uncertain times from a position of strength and is ready to act when new opportunities arise.