By the April 21 deadline, the City of Courtenay received five public submissions about the 2019-2023 financial plan bylaw. One respondent said they cannot afford “out-of-control, inflated increases.” Another said the (proposed) tax increase is too steep, and to “do more with less.” Another is concerned about “senior’s deferring taxes, and leaving it to the next generation to either cover or pay.”
With the exception of Manno Theos, Courtenay council approved third reading of the bylaw that calls for a 2.75 per cent increase to property taxes this year. The long-time councillor worries about the cumulative impact of taxes year-after-year.
“People are falling behind,” Theos said at a special meeting Monday. “We’re a huge part of that equation. Mortgages to many people are not the number one expense in their costs now, it’s property taxes, and we need to put the rein on that as much as we can, whenever we can. It’s getting to the point where we are contributing to the homelessness by making these kinds of decisions…It’s incumbent on me to relay what I’m hearing, as we all are doing. There is a large block of people who are struggling.”
Coun. Doug Hillian agrees that inequities exist in the community, but notes that council does not have the ability to influence people’s individual circumstances.
“There’s all sorts of factors that we don’t have the ability to address,” Hillian said. “But it really does boil down to, do we want to provide the services that a modern city and the residents that live in it expect to have available to them, and how are we going to raise the revenue to do that?”
Coun. David Frisch notes the difficulty of lowering taxes without lowering services.
“Seniors that have a hard time paying their taxes, and other low-income families, in my opinion, are the ones that need the community services the most,” Frisch said.
To Hillian’s understanding, there are not a lot of people saying 2.75 is unreasonable.
“I don’t see a tax revolt out there that some have spoken about,” Hillian said. “Nobody likes paying higher taxes, but everybody wants — when they turn on their tap — the water to run, when they call the police for someone to respond, when they go to the recreation centre or planning department to get staff that will handle the things they’re seeking.”
The proposed property tax increase for an average residential property, valued at $435,616, is estimated at $38.92. When water, sewer and solid waste user fees are applied, the impact is $88.79. For a commercial property valued at $819,332, the increase is about $201.52. For 2019, spending for major projects is estimated at $14 million.
Theos reminded council of past discussions about separating the needs from the wants.
“At the moment, I don’t think we’ve had our finger on the pulse of what they (residents) are prepared to pay,” he said, noting residents have questioned if work is necessary on the 5th Street Bridge, for example.
CAO David Allen said painting the bridge would add about 50 years to the life of the structure.
“Everyone at this table has wrestled with how do we keep taxes from rising, but what we need is solutions,” Mayor Bob Wells said, noting the use of gambling funds as an example to offset tax hikes.
“There’s efficiency experts that can look at the departments…to find those efficiencies which are creating major cost-savings,” Theos said.
Hillian suggests council needs to exercise caution if seeking expert advice about City operations.
“To me, it’s our staff that needs to make that decision in consultation with council,” he said.
Wells noted that a task force will be created to explore ways to save money.
The budget needs to be adopted by May 15. Tax notices will be mailed by the end of May.