This work is funded by our members. We invite ALL our members to participate. If you are not a member, please consider joining us to help us fund this work by visiting cranbrookchamber.com. We want you onboard and we want to hear your voice too!

The Chamber will not share the name of your business or organization – your responses will be used to identify trends and share ideas/feedback/questions without revealing your identity. Your contact information is required so that we can confirm that you are a member, and to allow us to provide follow-up with you on all your great ideas, comments and questions.

The total Annual City Budget for 2025 was $35,937,500. We know that a freeze in property taxes without any new revenue sources would inevitably equate to a cut in services, due to inflation; one dollar in 2026 is not worth as much as it was worth in 2025. To quantify the amount of savings and/or new revenue that it would take to affect the City budget - slowing the rate of increase by 1% would mean finding $359,375 of savings or new revenue.

One idea brought forward by members to date: EXAMPLE – Capital expenditures – City vehicles • What is the planning process for the City to plan for capital expenditures for vehicles (eg - fire trucks, other city vehicles), including timelines for replacement and other external factors to the decisions? • What strategies have been identified and implemented to extend the life span for all City vehicles? • Could Chamber members review the City’s proactive vehicle maintenance plan and offer some feedback?

How can the City bring in more revenue? Ideas from Chamber members: a) EXAMPLE – rental opportunities in city-owned event spaces • What are the barriers to increase rental opportunities for city-owned events space? (eg. admin costs, staff, janitorial, insurance) • Is the City maximizing rental income from our publicly owned assets? (eg. Curling rink, Manual Training Centre, other city-owned spaces?) • Could there be a business plan review done by Chamber members to bring forward some ideas? b) EXAMPLE – pay per use, extra garbage and recycling bins • Has the City done the math on charging for extra garbage and/or recycling bins? • What are the barriers to cost recovery (administrative costs, increase in collection contracts/staff expenses)?

Time is money. Are there opportunities for the Chamber to support the City to adopt some best practices from other municipalities that have proven results? a) EXAMPLE – Modernization of process for items like: • Tax certificates – other communities are using technology to streamline and reduce the administrative burden on City staff. Is this an item that the City has already explored? Could Chamber members assist in any way (e.g. research best practices that could assist the City in exploration)? • Permitting – tracking capabilities so members can gauge the status of their applications. Has the City of Cranbrook explored a portal/system that allows applicants to track their application status from submission to approval? What would be the cost of such a system compared to savings in staff costs for reduced interactions with application on file status? Could Chamber members in any way (e.g. research for best practices that could assist the City in exploration)? b) EXAMPLE - A Chamber Technology / Innovation Working Group/Chamber-led advisory or “on-call think tank” (not another standing committee) could: • Provide vendor-neutral guidance • Reduce risk for the City • Share real-world implementation experience & learnings The group could: • Keep it lightweight and purpose-driven • Activate around specific challenges or projects

Advocacy is a core function of the Cranbrook Chamber of Commerce. As an independent, member-funded organization, we work to represent the interests of our members and advocate for policies and initiatives that support a strong business environment. Through our memberships with the BC Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, we also help bring local business priorities to provincial and federal decision-makers. The Chamber and the City of Cranbrook share many goals and priorities. Are there issues, opportunities, or priorities where the City and Chamber could align our advocacy efforts and work together to advance shared goals? By coordinating our voices where interests overlap, we may be able to strengthen the case for action through organizations such as UBCM, the BC Chamber, the Canadian Chamber and provincial and federal governments. Some ideas previously identified by Chamber members include: EXAMPLE - more federal funding to offset the tax burden to rebuild the RCMP station