Comox property owners are facing an approximate $11 hike per $100,000 of assessed value, according to figures in the 2013 budget that needs to be adopted by the Comox Valley Regional District board by the end of the month.
Courtenay homeowners are looking at a $7 hike, Cumberland $4, and residents in Areas A, B and C will pay about $6, $7 and $8 respectively per $100,000.
In the CVRD, each service has its own revenue source.
Compared to Comox and Courtenay, Cumberland pays into fewer services. Courtenay and Comox, for instance, are the only two participants in sewer.
"That is a hefty chunk this year of those increases," said Wendy Byrne, CVRD manager of financial planning.
Comox has two new requisitions — a one-time Island Corridor Foundation (ICF) grant for rail repairs, which accounts for $67,582, and a new tax for the Comox Strathcona Waste Management service, which is nearly $22,000.
In addition, sewer service increased significantly this year.
If these three services were removed from the equation, there would be an overall tax deduction in Comox.
"Those three major pieces have created the increases," Byrne said. "Sewer is the big hit at $143,585."
Total change in Comox from 2012 to 2013 is $210,455. In Courtenay, the change is nearly $470,000, with ICF accounting for $146,631 and waste management $47,493. Sewer service in Courtenay increased by more than $198,000.
"If Courtenay is growing and they're building and adding more assessments to the area, they will naturally pull more of the taxation, allocated based on assessment," Byrne said.
"As Courtenay grows, their share becomes bigger. It's also spread across more households as well."
In Cumberland, the ICF tax is $15,675, waste management slightly exceeds $5,000 and other services have jumped by $9,513 over the course of the year.
The CVRD board passed third reading of the 2013 to 2017 financial plan/capital expenditure bylaw Tuesday.
The budget comes back to the board Thursday for adoption.
reporter@comoxvalleyrecord.com