The City of Abbotsford has identified a $30-million shortfall for new projects in 2010, which is expected to severely impact a long list of upgrades to buildings, roads and parks.

The point was highlighted at a public budget consultation session hosted by the city on Tuesday night. At that meeting, city officials laid out which expenditures – initially proposed for 2010 – may have to be deferred or cancelled.

City of Abbotsford budget manager Randy Millard told a small crowd in Matsqui Centennial Auditorium that the city hoped to spend $49-million on capital projects relating to roads, parks, buildings and equipment in 2010. However, he said there is only $19-million in the pot.

The hefty gap has prompted city staff to propose a two per cent property tax increase, for six consecutive years, which would be specifically set aside for capital projects that provide the city with fixed assets.

The city would raise $1.9-million from the two per cent increase in 2010, acting finance director Judy Lewis told The News.

By the end of the sixth year, because a new two per cent increase would be added annually, she said the city would have an extra $13-million for capital projects. That total would be collected in 2015 and every year after that, she said.

The two per cent "capital levy" would have to be backed by council, and would be added to any other property tax increase that council may approve for 2010.

The city has also pitched to the province an application for its own gas tax which, if approved, would add two cents to a litre of fuel bought in Abbotsford, and raise an estimated $5-million a year for roads and transportation.

During a question and answer period at the end of Tuesday's meeting, Abbotsford resident Mary-Helen Hatch questioned the city's priorities.

"A lot of things seem to be costing an arm and a leg," she said. "The money is not coming in but we have made all these obligations."

Vince DiManno, president of the Abbotsford Ratepayers Association, said further cuts could be made at city hall, and highlighted "luxury" parks projects in particular.

The City of Abbotsford decided upon a 5.5 per cent property tax increase in 2009. Of that total, 3.23 per cent went to the police department, 0.28 per cent funded community safety initiatives, and 2 per cent paid for general city operations.

To keep its tax increase at 5.5 per cent in 2009, the city deferred or cancelled $55-million worth of capital projects.

The decision to delay certain capital projects is creating a crunch, explained Lewis, who said the issue is nothing new.

She told The News that some capital projects get deferred year after year, mainly because the city – gathering approximately $20-million annually from taxpayers to put into its reserve accounts – is not collecting enough.

"Municipalities throughout Canada are not sustainable in terms of their capital replacement through property taxation," she said.

Abbotsford is a "high-growth" community which compounds the problem further, said Lewis, adding that ongoing financial support from the provincial and federal governments must be sought in the future.