Many residents believe White Rock must “keep growing” to afford city services. But that’s simply not true.
No one wants White Rock to stagnate — some growth is healthy — but we need to push back against plans for a Community Hub and multiple 30- and 40-storey towers along North Bluff.
Since 2006, more than 20 new towers and high-density developments have already been approved and built. They’ve brought in plenty of new tax dollars. In fact, White Rock is collecting far more than it spends.
In 2024, the City took in about $80 million, yet $29 million went unspent and was placed in “reserves.” That means 36% of every tax dollar you pay sits in a bank account instead of improving our roads, parks, or services.
Those reserves now total nearly $200 million, and the City Manager has said he wants to grow them to $1 billion — yes, one billion dollars — for a city of only 22,000 people. That’s excessive by any measure.
When I served on Council, I repeatedly called out these sky-high taxes and oversized reserves. I even moved to cut property taxes by 5% to give residents and small businesses some relief. Council rejected that — choosing instead to match Surrey’s tax increases. We can do better.
White Rock’s Reserves Over Time
- 2010: $20M reserves on a $35M budget → 50% of budget
- 2018: $35M reserves on a $44M budget → 80% of budget
- 2024: $200M reserves on an $80M budget → 250% of budget
- Future plan: Grow to $1 billion in reserves. Ouch.
A healthy reserve should be about 50% of the annual budget. We hit that goal in 2010 — but since then, taxes and reserves have skyrocketed, even after all those new towers expanded our tax base.
It’s time for taxpayers to get value for their money — through better services, not bloated bank accounts.
Imagine what $29 million could do for our city in 2024:
✅ Improve infrastructure
✅ Restore shuttle service from Uptown to the beach
✅ Support seniors and small businesses
✅ Reduce approval times and improve city services
A Transparency Problem
When I asked the City for detailed financial data for the past 10 years, I was told it was too difficult to provide.
Why?
There are only two possible explanations:
- The City doesn’t have the data readily available — which raises serious questions about how budgets are managed; or
- They have the data but won’t share it — which raises even more serious questions about transparency.
Either way, taxpayers deserve to know where their money is going.
What do you think?
Should White Rock keep building towers as described in the North Bluff Study and the 11 Pillars White Paper, while $200 million sits unused in reserves?
Or is it time for real transparency, improved services, and fair taxation?
scott4whiterock 