Locals fear Lytton, B.C., could be headed for financial ruin

As rebuilding efforts continue in a B.C. village devastated by wildfire five years ago, some fear Lytton could be headed for financial ruin.

Tuesday marks five years since a deadly fire raged through Lytton, killing two people and destroying almost the entire village.

But as efforts to rebuild continue, some fear the community could be headed for financial ruin.

There are now about 20 homes that have been rebuilt in the village, and one more that is starting

That’s just a handful more than a year ago.

“There hasn’t been a single new resident…build a home,” said former Lytton mayor Jan Polderman.

Still, there are signs of progress, including construction of a new village office, a public works building and infrastructure upgrades.

But in the years since the fire, so far only about 75 people have returned to the community, less than half the residents living there previously.

And some residents worry whether the community can afford to run and maintain the public facilities being rebuilt with government funding.

“They’re planning on building a pool, a hub, the village office, a fire hall, a safety centre, and a public works building,” said Polderman.

“The taxpayers of Canada have been very generous with the amount of money they have allotted to this town, but in the end, the village residents have to, through their taxes, pay for the maintenance and the operating costs,” he said.

Polderman has started a petition, calling on the village to produce a comprehensive asset management plan before any public facility projects go to tender.

“We haven’t finished the design, so how do we know what the costs are?” said the village’s current mayor, Denise O’Connor.

She said the new builds are critical to the community.

“It’s going to be those things that are going to bring back people or bring new people in,” O’Connor explained.

“We know if we just solely counted on taxes…to pay for everything, it wouldn’t work, but there are other opportunities to bring in money,” she said.

For example, she said they are building rental suites for essential workers in one of the buildings.

“In the village office, we are also building two spaces for leasing out retail offices,” O’Connor said.

Still, long-time residents like Judith Urquhart want more financial details.

“We say show us. Can you have a face-to-face community meeting where we sit down and ask the questions about the operational plans for these buildings, and they won’t,” she said.

She’s worried about what could happen if the population, and thus the tax base, don’t grow.

“Multi-million dollar buildings without a business and financial plan being presented to the community has the potential to bankrupt us,” she said.

But O’Connor said the community has health reserves and is exploring various options.

“Between reserves, revenues, taxes, I’m confident that we can make it work, but of course, we don’t have a crystal ball to know what’s going to be in the future,” she said.

It’s a future, some believe, that five years after the fire still feels fragile.