The B.C. Government and Northwest BC Resource Benefits Alliance (RBA) released details of the $250 million infrastructure grant last summer, and the District is close to revealing their plans for the money.
In July 2024, it was revealed that Houston would receive a total of $13,968,501 from the grant, but the District has yet to announce any additional details about the funding. That will change next month.
According to chief administrative officer Ryan Nitchie, the District is currently in the process of preparing its five-year financial plan and budget, and the RBA grant is being discussed at length behind closed doors.
"Staff continue to work to allocate funding for qualified projects under the RBA grant program into our financial plan," he said. "[We] will be preparing that plan to Council in February for their consideration."
The RBA was formed in 2014 and is a coalition of 21 local governments in Northwest B.C., 18 communities and three regional districts, and aims to help small local governments that face financial pressures of providing essential services due to not being able to tax large-scale projects within their communities, as they are usually based outside of local government boundaries.
More than $349 million has been allocated for Northwest communities through the RBA since 2017.