Looking to get caught up on the March 25 Regular Council meeting and Committee of the Whole? We’ve pulled together some key items, including:
- Whistler Housing Authority 2024 financials and 2025 corporate plan
- Financial Plan and mill rate changes
- Community Enrichment Program update
- Wastewater Treatment Plant tank contract awarded
For all the details, check out the recording of the full meeting at whistler.ca.
Roughly half of Whistler’s permanent population now housed in affordable employee units: Whistler Housing Authority
The Whistler Housing Authority (WHA) presented its 2024 financials at the Tuesday, March 25 Regular Council meeting, offering a snapshot of our community, which houses nearly half of Whistler’s permanent population in affordable employee units.
In 2024, Whistler’s inventory increased by 118 employee beds, thanks to the opening of 1400 and 1450 Mount Fee Road in Cheakamus Crossing. In all, we now count 7,495 employee beds, representing approximately 46 per cent of the community’s 2023 permanent population of 16,063. Of those beds, 3,058 are rental and 4,437 are ownership.
Since 2018, 1,260 new employee beds have been added to Whistler’s stock, with 882 additional beds currently under municipal development consideration or approval.
“We hear time and again that many members of our community’s workforce would not still be living in Whistler if they had not secured a home in the employee housing inventory,” said Marla Zucht, WHA general manager. “Employee housing has given many the ability to move forward with building their lives in Whistler with confidence and stability. It can be life changing.”
The WHA rental waitlist sits at 677 applicants, with 503 of those not yet in WHA housing. The WHA ownership waitlist sits at 1,220 applicants, with 780 of those not already in WHA ownership housing. At year’s end, the WHA had an accumulated surplus of $41.4 million, an $11.2-million increase from 2023. That includes $39.5 million invested in tangible capital assets, a restricted reserve fund of $1 million for future rental projects, and an unrestricted reserve fund of $875,000.
In 2025, the WHA is aiming to secure financing for its latest employee housing project at 1600 Mount Fee Road, which, upon completion, will add 125 new rental units to Whistler’s inventory.
Five-Year Financial Plan bylaw third reading rescinded; council raises mill rate for two property classes
Council approved rescinding third reading of the Resort Municipality of Whistler’s (RMOW) Five-Year Financial Plan bylaw at the Tuesday, March 25 Regular Council meeting to align it with new budget information and introduce a mill rate change.
The bylaw received first three readings at the January 21, 2025 Regular Council meeting. Rescinding of third reading was proposed due to:
- The addition of six projects either missed in the budget process, having only recently come into view, or not completed as expected in 2024, requiring further spending this year. Three of those projects are to be funded by provincial Resort Municipality Initiative funds, worth $383,894 combined, and three will be covered by the RMOW’s General Operating Fund, worth $70,000.
- A change to the total tax requisition to reflect actual tax collected in 2024, rather than budgeted amounts, resulting in an additional $309,000 available for 2025.
- A change was also proposed to the mill rates for properties in Classes 2 and 8 to better reflect the share of community costs that should equitably be borne by properties in these classes.
Different property classes place different demands on municipal services, which local governments use to determine the annual mill rate for each property type. In 2024, Class 2 utilities properties in Whistler pay a mill rate just less than $28 of tax per $1,000 of assessed value. Most B.C. communities tax utilities at the maximum rate allowed by provincial legislation. This is why RMOW staff recommended increasing the mill rate for this class to $35 per $1,000 of assessed value.
Staff also recommended raising the mill rate for Class 8 outdoor recreational properties, a reflection of the dominant role this property class plays in the resort economy and in the consumption of local services. In 2024, Class 8 properties paid taxes at a mill rate that was 6.1 times the residential rate. Staff proposed raising the mill rate to approximately seven times the residential rate for 2025. Council took this a step further, voting to increase the mill rate to 10 times the residential rate instead.
“We have giant corporations existing in our community that I think every person in town would conclude, ‘Fair is fair. You’ve got to be able to pay your share.’ It can’t all be on the burden of local homeowners,” said Councillor Ralph Forsyth, who proposed the amendment. “I think it’s time for us to take this first bold step and make a stand that says, ‘Hey, this is how we want to make it equitable for the community, for the people who live here.’”
Notably, the mill rate changes have no effect on the year-over-year increase for taxpayers in property Classes 1 (residential), 5 (industrial), and 6 (business), which, as a group, can still expect to pay 8.25 per cent more in property tax this year compared to 2024.
Between the change to the total tax requisition and the two adjustments to mill rates for Classes 2 and 8, there is an additional $1.2 million in the 2025 budget, compared to what was proposed in January.
Of this amount, $300,000 will go toward payroll expenses and $935,000 will go to the General Capital Reserve.
Record number of applications for Community Enrichment Program grants
There was a record number of applications and funds requested through the Resort Municipality of Whistler’s Community Enrichment Program (CEP) in 2025.
Each year, we financially support local not-for-profit organizations and societies that benefit the resort municipality and move us closer to Whistler’s Community Vision through the CEP and Fee for Service agreements.
This year saw 41 applicants, requesting a combined total of $432,453 in grant funding, both record amounts.
Applicants must operate in one of the following categories to be eligible: Environment, Community and Social Services, Recreation and Sport, and Arts and Culture.
The amount provided to each selected organization varies but can only be up to 50 per cent of a program’s total cost. One-off events are not eligible for CEP funding.
Organizations applying for 2025 CEP funding presented to Mayor and Council at the February 25 Committee of the Whole meeting. At the Tuesday, March 25 Committee of the Whole meeting, elected officials discussed how to dole out the $180,504 they have earmarked for grant funding this year, the same amount as 2024.
The list of CEP grant recipients, and the approved funding amounts, will be announced at the April 8 Regular Council meeting. April 30 is the deadline to issue funds to the successful applicants.
Council awards $1M contract for replacement of Wastewater Treatment Plant sedimentation tanks
Resort officials awarded a contract for the replacement and refurbishment of four aging sedimentation tanks over the next two years at Whistler’s Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) on Tuesday, March 25.
The WWTP is equipped with two primary sedimentation tanks and two equalization tanks, designed to remove solids and organic matter from wastewater. At the end of their lifespans, a complete overhaul and replacement of some of the tanks’ components is now required.
The contract, awarded to CHB Services Ltd., is worth $1,044,290, 23 per cent lower than the only other eligible bid.
Work is slated to begin in May. The project is expected to be completed by September 29, 2026. The tank replacement work will be scheduled to minimize adverse impacts on the WWTP process.
To attend an upcoming meeting, check out the Council meeting Schedule. Agendas and Minutes are available online. To connect with Council, consider “Borrowing a Councillor” from the Library’s Unusual Items Collection, or get in touch with them individually by phone or email.
