Question & Answer Period

Question and Answer (QA) period is an opportunity for the public to ask Council questions or provide comments and receive answers or responses (if available) at Regular Council meetings.

There may be instances where the City is unable to provide an answer or response at a Regular Council meeting; however, questions and comments will be forwarded to staff and the response will be updated in this table when available.

Review Council and Committee Procedure Bylaw, No. 2393, which provides the rules of procedure for Council and Committee Meetings. 

Submit a Question:

If you are unable to attend in-person, submit your question by:

  • Email to clerksoffice@whiterockcity.ca with "QA period" in the subject line
  • Questions must be submitted before 8:30 a.m. on the Wednesday prior to the Regular Council meeting. 
  • Questions and/or comments are noted in the Regular Council agenda and if a question/ comment is received after this deadline but before noon on the day of the Regular Council meeting, it will be provided 'on-table' to Council at the meeting.

If there are any questions, please contact Corporate Administration at clerksoffice@whiterockcity.ca or 604-541-2278.

Questions and Answers (Regular Council)

DateQuestion/CommentAnswer/Response
2024-03-11

Please update us with respect on your deliberations reversing the federal Housing Accelerator Fund. I notice that White Rock did not receive an allocation this year and I would like to know the reasons for this.

Late last week we learned that the City was not successful in our grant application to the federal Housing Accelerator Fund. On Friday afternoon, staff met with representatives from the CMHC for further details. It is important to note that the meetings offered by the CMHC were limited to 15 minute windows, therefore the discussion was brief. The following points were discussed:

  • While CMHC staff could not provide any information on application details or scoring, they did say that it was a highly competitive application process and they had more applications than they could provide funding for.
  • All applications were reviewed against the same criteria regardless of the application stream (i.e size of community).
  • CMHC staff advised that successful municipalities will be required to publish their action plans so we will have the opportunity to take a look at them. They recommended reviewing their website for the 10 best practices Resources for Housing Accelerator Fund Applicants |CMHC (cmhc-schl.gc.ca) . Upon review, I note that some of these would have required significant changes to our OCP and to our zoning.

Staff also sought clarification as to whether the implementation of the new BC legislation played a role in the decision-making process. CMHC staff noted that while similar in intent the new legislation was distinct from this grant process and was not a factor in the decision-making process. We also discussed potential community hub plans and advised that housing could be a consideration as part of that. CMHC staff said there may be other grants available, so we will keep an eye out for future opportunities.

2024-02-26No Q&A submitted for this meeting.
2024-02-12There will be a Peace Boat Tour off the West Coast of the US and Canada who have noted interested in stopping at the White Rock Pier. Are they permitted to tie up at the pier?Due to the noted size of the sailboat they would be able to tie onto the pier for a few hours (high tide) but not overnight, they can also anchor off of the pier as it is federal waters, at their own risk.
2024-02-12Questions regarding moving the City Council Chambers to the AnnexFull questions with staff responses can be viewed here.
2024-01-29Questions were asked surrounding a previous delegation regarding the budget/ financial plan process. An inquiry was made as to whether this information was formally considered by Council, and if so, when?Staff noted the following: Your delegation, presented on July 24, 2023, has been thoroughly received by Council. It is important to clarify that Council is under no obligation to act upon delegations it receives. Consequently, no specific actions or decisions were taken regarding the suggestions you proposed. Council is appreciative of your input and considers all viewpoints in its deliberations. However, in this case, your points, while duly noted, did not result in any subsequent Council action.
2024-01-29Further support was noted in support of Council sending a letter to the federal government in support of a ceasefire in Gaza. The speaker noted she wants to be a voice for the children and would like a ceasefire for the benefit of the children involved.

Council considered this request later in the meeting. 

In accordance with Council's Procedure Bylaw, delegations are not permitted if they are on a subject that is beyond the jurisdiction of Council. No further action was taken on this request.

2024-01-29A request was made for Mayor and Council to allow a delegation and a letter to be sent to the federal government in support of a ceasefire in Gaza.

Council considered this request later in the meeting. 

In accordance with Council's Procedure Bylaw, delegations are not permitted if they are on a subject that is beyond the jurisdiction of Council. No further action was taken on this request.

2024-01-15Questions regarding Daytime Warming Centre:
  • Why has Council endorsed $360,000 of the COVID-19 recovery funds to pay for this?
  • Why not fund this from the Emergency Fund Contingency Reserve set up in 2023 from the 2022 operating surplus?
  • Why not use that reserve to pay for the Daytime Warming Centre in future years instead of increasing property taxes?

(View full submission)

Staff have noted the City did not set-up an 'Emergency Fund Contingency Reserve' in 2023.  The new reserve that was established in 2023 was the Growing Communities Fund reserve, which was set up to hold the Growing Communities Fund grant received in 2023. Perhaps the writer is referring to the unallocated accumulated surplus amount for 2023 of $3.4M. If so, according to Finance policy # 307, "The transfer of a portion of the General Operating Fund accumulated surplus balance to current year operations can only be used for emergencies, non-recurring operating expenditures, or early debt repayment expenditures." The expenses related to the Warming Shelter do not meet this criterion.
2024-01-15Questions regarding 2023 operating surplus:
  • Why does Council wait until financial planning process is almost complete to learn operating surplus amount?
  • How is Council able to make informed decisions about the financial plan for 2024 - 2027 if they do not have access to the operating surplus from 2023 budget?

(View full submission)

Staff have noted that best practice, in a best-case scenario, is that budgets would be approved before the fiscal year starts, meaning before January 1 of the year, at which time operating surplus would not be known as the current year hasn't ended yet. Most BC municipalities do not approve their budgets until sometime in the 1st quarter of the year.   The City of White Rock is aiming to do the same and have its budget approved in early March 2024.

 As the City's year-end is December 31, the year-end work can only start in January. This early in the year-end process, operating surpluses are not yet known as it is only after the year-end work that these are finalized.  This is why they are not available until after the year-end work has been completed and are discussed as part of the audited financial statements.

 As is standard practice, the public will be notified of the year's operating surplus when Council is made aware.

 As was stated in the CFO's Letter of Transmittal for the 2022 Financial Statements, page 3 (part of the Jun 12, 2023, Agenda package), the $18.7M surplus that the writer is referring to is the consolidated surplus and before any of the budgeted transfers to reserves have been considered. The General Fund surplus was $12.8M. From that, the planned (budgeted) transfers to reserves of $9.3M left the city with an unallocated surplus of only $3.4M.  The majority of this amount was transferred to capital reserves. The writer is encouraged to read the CFO's Letter of Transmittal.

2024-01-15Inquiry regarding building permit wait time.Staff response was provided directly to the writer due to the subject matter containing personal information about a specific permit application.
2024-01-15Suggestion for upgrades to be made along beachside walking path by railroad tracks between Oxford and Bayview streets, to make path more accessible.

Staff noted that it sounds like the person is referring to the beachside strip of land on the south side of the train tracks from Oxford to Bayview.

Given the proximity of this area to the ocean environment and sensitive dune habitat it is currently being maintained in its natural state as much as possible, with occasional invasive plant removal work by staff and partnership with the Lower Mainland Green Team.

We will take this feedback into consideration and will assess the area with this in mind.