Salt Spring Island Special Property Tax Requisition Backgrounder

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Budget 2023-2024                                   
Water Sustainability 
Salt Spring Island Special Property Tax Requisition 
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What is a Special Property Tax Requisition? 
Islands Trust Council policy enables individual Local Trust  Committees to request the Islands Trust Council to 
include a special property  tax requisition within their  Local Trust Area to fund “additional operations” that are 
not  included in their general land use planning and regulatory role
. The Salt Spring  Island Special Property Tax 
Requisition (SPTR) will only  apply to the Salt Spring  Island Local Trust  Area, which is the  only local trust  area 
to benefit from  the proposed additional operations. The Salt Spring Island Local Trust Committee  (SS LTC) has 
received a requisition to  support  watershed  management  since 2014 and  is requesting it again for  the 2023-
24 fiscal year. 
 
What kind of Additional Operations is the Salt Spring Island Local Trust Committee 
proposing to undertake? 
In 2012, the SS LTC requested  that  the  Islands Trust Council delegate it the authority  to 
coordinate and assist 
in  the determination of  regional,  improvement  district and Government  of  British 
Columbia  policies; and  to 
coordinate the implementation and carrying  out of regional, improvement  district and Government  of British 
Columbia policies for the purposes of preserving and protecting water  resources in the Salt Spring Island Local 
Trust Area. The Islands Trust Council passed Bylaw 154 in June  2013 in response to this request.  
 
With these delegated powers,  the SS LTC can now  act as more  than  a land use planning  and regulatory  body 
– it also acts as a coordinating body for the Salt Spring Island Watershed Protection Alliance (SSIWPA). The SS 
LTC proposes to continue to fund this work through a special tax levy in the Salt Spring  Island Local Trust Area.  
 
What is the Salt Spring Island Watershed Protection Alliance (SSIWPA)? 
SSIWPA was  created  in  2013 to  provide  a  coordinated,  inter-jurisdictional  response  to  the  protection  and 
management  of  freshwater  resources on Salt Spring  Island.  The SSIWPA Steering  Committee is comprised of  
public agencies with  responsibility  and  authority  for  the  use  and  management  of  water  resources  and  the 
watersheds  in  the  Salt  Spring  Island  Local  Trust  Area,  as  well  as  other  water  purveyors  and  freshwater-
interested  organizations.  The SSIWPA  Steering  Committee  operates on  a consensus decision-making model.  
 
The purpose  of SSIWPA  is to: 
 
 Provide  a framework  for freshwater  resources in the Salt Spring  Island Local Trust Area to be managed 
in  a  manner  that integrates  and  considers  both  human  and  ecosystem  needs  through  integrated 
planning,  policy  development  and  recommendations  for  implementation  by  member  agencies and 
organizations; 
 Advise  on

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