Each year by June 30 the City of Abbotsford releases an Annual Report containing the previous year’s audited financial statements, a report on municipal services and operations, a progress report on the objectives set out in the Strategic Plan for the previous year and a statement of municipal objectives for the current and coming years.
Last month we approved the 2024 Annual Report. The report outlined the City’s favourable 2024 financial results, as we ended 2024 with a $3.7 million General Fund (taxation) operating surplus. Furthermore, the overall Public Sector Accounting Board accumulated surplus for 2024 was $66.2 million. That amount was mainly made up of non-cash surplus, like infrastructure investments including civic buildings, roads, sidewalks, water and sewer mains, and parks.
The $3.7 million General Fund operating surplus is primarily due to operational efficiencies and unanticipated revenues, including additional non-market change taxation and increased development activity. This surplus provides the City with greater financial flexibility and was allocated toward future capital projects and reserve funds.
The report also contained financial and municipal statistics and additional demographic and employment data for 2024 to paint a fuller picture of our changing and growing community.
Here is a collection of some of those findings:
- The City of Abbotsford had $419 million in consolidated revenue, with more than 70 per cent coming from municipal taxation ($198 million) and fees and other charges ($107 million).
- The City had $1.6 billion in tangible capital assets, the most valuable by category were land ($466 million), waterworks ($231 million) and transportation ($214 million).
- The City issued 1,070 building permits with a total construction value of $784 million, more than $300 million greater than the value of 2023’s 1,142 permits.
- Abbotsford had 100,000 registered electors, a number unchanged since 2022.
- Abbotsford had 51,000 properties on the taxation roll, up from 50,000 the year before.
- Abbotsford International Airport reached a new high for aircraft movements at 198,000, eclipsing the previous record of 182,000 reached in 2023 and 2019.
- The airport had just over 1 million passengers in 2024. This was the first time YXX reached the 1 million passenger mark two years in a row.
- The unemployment rate for Abbotsford/Mission was 5.6 per cent.
- The biggest employers in Abbotsford/Mission were trade and transportation (27,900 employees); health and education (24,300 employees); and manufacturing and construction (23,200 employees).
View the full report at abbotsford.ca/2024-annual-report.
Abbotsford City Council