Courtenay council unanimously approved Monday a 3.22 per cent overall property tax increase. This includes 2.72 per cent for general operations and debt servicing, and the remaining .5 per cent is related to the Infrastructure Renewal Reserve Levy. A large portion of the increase – about two per cent – is from external cost increases, including higher minimum wage rates and policing services.
The owner of an average single-family home valued at $452,646 will see a $47.54 increase this year. When water, sewer and solid waste user fees are applied, the impact is $69.06.
The property tax increase for an average commercial property, valued at $883,590, is estimated at 4.31 per cent or $358.70. However, due to a 50 per cent reduction to school taxes for commercial properties announced by the Province in response to COVID-19, the average commercial property may see a reduction in their overall property taxes in 2020. Commercial Class 6 encompasses a wide range of businesses, with a wide range of assessment valuations.
For 2020, the City requires $25.224 million in property taxes to pay for all budgeted expenditures and annual debt payments.
“It’s a pretty conservative, pretty lean budget,” CAO David Allen said.
Earlier in the year, Manno Theos had been the lone member of council opposed to the budget.
“For me, the concerns have aways been that I wanted to be in a position where I felt that budgets moving forward were sustainable in the long-term,” Theos said. “I’ve noticed in British Columbia, it looks like there’s quite a bit of out-of-control costs on housing.”
Theos said his property taxes in 1998 were $1,500. Twenty years later, they were $4,500.
“That’s a 300 per cent increase. If that happens again in 20 years, what we’re going to be looking at is not going to be feasible for many citizens. But I know we’re working hard and diligent as a council to try to keep those costs down…I know our staff is doing the exact same thing.”