The Township budget can read like a glossy catalogue. Page after page of attractive projects, until you read the fine print. In Langley’s 2025 capital plan, $113 million of $322 million in new requests has no funding confirmed. Some corners of the budget are much thinner than others.

Stormwater projects are 51 percent unfunded.

Transportation projects are 30 percent unfunded.

Water, the pipes and reservoirs we rely on every day, are about 44 percent unfunded, including major projects the Township’s own engineers deem “Critical.”

These are not frivolous pet projects. The Strawberry Hill Reservoir replacement is an $11.5 million project in total, with $7.3 million unfunded. The Acadia Water System, where manganese levels are right at the guideline limit, needs $2.9 million in 2025, all unfunded. The bridge replacement program also requires millions in work that remains unfunded as of this year.

The soccer campus project, officially Smith Athletic Park, is a different story. Council has $30.6 million for Phase 1 and $39.3 million for Phase 2 in the debt pipeline. Finance has already tapped other reserves to keep it moving until permanent debt is in place. It does not appear in the unfunded column. The Financial Plan Bylaw shows 47 percent of capital funding this year will come from borrowing, 30 percent from Township reserves, and the rest from grants and other sources.

DCCs and CACs are used too. They go into reserves first and then show up as transfers to projects. Unfunded means no confirmed money. Some projects list “Unidentified External” as the source, which indicates they will only proceed if outside funding is secured. When capital plans depend on reserves and loans, council must choose what projects are critical and fund those first. In 2025, runway rehabilitation, bridge work, and critical water projects stayed on the waitlist, while the soccer campus kept advancing.

Residents with common sense save up for the must-have items before buying the shiny nice-to-have things. Langley’s current approach feels more like buying the toy boat on credit while the house roof is still leaking. The boat might be fun, but you will still come home to a leaky roof. Mayor Woodward and his slate would rather fund pet projects rather than those that are critical to infrastructure and to residents’ everyday lives.