Pemberton growing pains: B.C. municipalities tipping 5,000 population face steep policing costs

The population of Pemberton, B.C., is fast approaching a threshold, which has politicians scrambling to find ways to pay for the steep policing costs that would fall to the charming mountain town once it exceeds 5,000 residents.

In five years, from 2016 to 2021, the village along the Sea to Sky Highway, 30 minutes north of Whistler, increased its population by 32 percent to 3,407 residents.

In 2023, its population was estimated to be 3,678, encouraging local officials that the small town was growing for the right reasons — good small-town vibes, close to Vancouver and Whistler and access to nature — but alarming them over the new potential policing costs seemingly only years away.

"We have to also keep up with things like infrastructure, fire, climate change, housing, transit, all these other costs," said Pemberton Mayor Mike Richman. "And then you add this one-time massive budgetary implication through policing, and it's really not manageable for small communities. It's crippling."

WATCH | Pemberton is growing, and so are its policing costs: 

Village of Pemberton, B.C., concerned about future cost of municipal policing

1 day ago

Duration 2:25

The growing Village of Pemberton is worried about the substantial increase in the cost of policing when it hits 5,000 people and is worried about whether it will be able to afford it.

In British Columbia, municipalities with populations under 5,000 do not directly fund their own policing costs. Instead, the province collects a police tax from these communities — through property taxes — to recover a portion of the policing expenses B.C. provides.

But that all changes once small communities reach 5,001 or more residents.

For Pemberton, it will mean assuming 70 per cent of policing costs for its community, which it figures will amount to $1.3 million in extra costs sometime in the next eight to 10 years.

Its proposed 2025 $9.4-million budget includes deliberations over whether to begin raising taxes yearly to put away reserves to be ready for the increased policing costs when they come or just take on the added costs in a single year, which could mean a 40 per cent property tax increase for residents.

"It's such a big conversation," said Raven Burns, owner of Pemberton's Blackbird Bakery.

'You know it's coming'

The village has other municipalities to learn from, such as Oliver, Duncan and Metchosin, which have all recently surpassed 5,000 in population.

"You know it's coming. Start preparing for it. Start building that pocket that you're going to need," said Duncan Mayor Michelle Staples.

Duncan hovered around the 5,000 resident mark for several years and even went over and then below before having to take on extra costs for policing following the 2021 Canadian census.

The city had begun putting money away, years ahead of time, into reserves, which ultimately has helped ease the proposed property tax increase this year, which is 11.3 per cent, with 11 per cent of it for policing costs.

"We would have been facing over a 30 per cent tax increase this year had council of the day not done that," said Staples. "So that's why we're in a pretty good position."

Oliver's council came up with a five-year plan of nine per cent property tax increases per year, which were used to invest in capital projects, so that when then new policing costs of $900,000 came in 2022, the town was ready to assume them without sacrificing other spending.

"That was innovative and and it's worked well," said Oliver Mayor Martin Johansen of his predecessors. "We've been in good shape since."

Johansen said residents didn't balk at the tax increases because the town worked hard to communicate the need and the plan to use them.

It's something Pemberton is trying to do now to garner the support of residents and potentially put $257,000 in annual contributions to reserve funding for each of the next five years to "smooth tax impact," according to budget documents.

Richman says Pemberton is trying to engage the province in conversations over how there could be a less drastic funding formula for small communities having to pay more for their own policing.

"To go from zero to 70 [per cent of policing costs] is not gradual," he said. "It's kind of ridiculous and it puts a massive pressure on our budget … if we raise our taxes by about a per cent, we bring in about $25,000. That's it."

Richman and others, such as Pemberton and District Chamber of Commerce President Adam Adams, want more information about how policing in the village and outlying areas would work once Pemberton was paying, along with how costs could be shared with the regional district and local First Nations.

"Tell us on an individual basis what that actually means," said Adams speaking on behalf of businesses. 

"Gradually building up to it, I think, will make it more digestible for the community rather than all of a sudden we need to ask you now for $1.3 million, and everyone has a lot of sticker shock."