Zac de Vries
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zacdevries.bsky.social
Zac de Vries
@zacdevries.bsky.social
Saanich Councillor, CRD Director, and Chair of the Capital Region Housing Corporation. Opinions are my own.
The short answer to whether there are easy to cut or delay board directed initiatives is no.

Most budget increases come from the cost of core service delivery.
October 31, 2025 at 11:07 PM
See the breakdown on the projected requisition increase for your community in Column D
October 31, 2025 at 11:07 PM
An area of concern, and future budget pressure, is the drawing down on CRD reserve funds.

It is wise that there are annual transfers to reserves and the CRD has used debt strategically to smooth out costs for taxpayers.

Transfers to reserves need to be increased going forward.
October 31, 2025 at 11:07 PM
CRD staff, based on board direction, looked to reduce the increase this year from potential double digits down to 6.3%, 4.7% if you exclude municipal debt (which is owned by each individual local government but flows through the CRD).
October 31, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Transportation is also a large line item, but is most often number 2. There’s some exceptions to this, especially if someone Rents a single room in a shared house.

Transportation is also a significant opportunity to address coat of living!
October 28, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Valid point here!
October 28, 2025 at 2:40 AM
Interesting ideas! I will pass them onto staff.

Something to note is nothing is changing any time soon; changes will be made in response to traffic and congestion issues as they get worse in order to offer some relief for people and it will be tied to transit improvement and community and growth
October 28, 2025 at 2:40 AM
Most likely it would begin as HOV but it is dependant on a lot of factors. First plug I’ve heard to add motorcycles to that, interesting!
October 28, 2025 at 1:42 AM
The link above is for Greater Victoria, there is a broader network of the BC Rent Bank Across the province: bcrentbank.ca/about-us/
About Us - BC Rent Bank
BC Rent Bank provides funding to the provincial rent bank network and supports our partners with technology, resources, and training.
bcrentbank.ca
October 16, 2025 at 9:48 PM
That does make a difference! Im grateful to live near the Goose and Uptown exchange. Lots of transport options!
October 3, 2025 at 12:42 AM
Agree, theres more than enough room too! Hope something is in the works there!
October 3, 2025 at 12:40 AM
Huge opportunity for families here!
September 15, 2025 at 5:45 PM