Langford has approved a 12.41 per cent tax increase for its 2023 budget.
The final five-year financial plan for 2023 to 2027 also forecasts tax increases of 11.68 per cent in 2024, 9.50 per cent in 2025, 8.98 per cent in 2026 and 8.44 per cent in 2027.
After a tumultuous deliberation process that saw multiple protests and at times high tempers, Langford Mayor Scott Goodmanson thanked everyone for their participation and said he hoped residents felt their input was respected, even if they were unhappy with the final budget.
“There’s nothing we can (do to) make everyone happy, and I recognize that and I realize that no matter what the answer at the end is, there’ll be people who are upset. Unfortunately, that is just the process unless you have a zero tax increase and then you’d have a lot of people mad for the services that were cut,” said Goodmanson during the council meeting on May 1, where council voted on first, second and third readings.
“This came to us because they are the experts in financing the city, and I have absolute faith in (finance director Michael Dillabaugh) and his team,” he added.
In a city staff report, inflation was cited as a big cause of the increase – which is higher than Langford has seen in previous years – as well as several expensive items which came forward. Those include doubling the subsidy given to the YMCA-YWCA to run its Westhills facility, as well as directing city staff to buy that facility. There’s also funding to move ahead with the design phase of the new West Shore RCMP detachment, as well as the hiring of new police officers, new firefighters, and new city hall staff.
“I don’t think anybody here planned to come in and witness a 12.41 per cent tax increase. No one, absolutely no one wants this, I don’t want to face this. I’ll have financial hardships on me and my family as well, but given what we’re facing here as a municipality, it’s really what we need to be able to move forward in a fiscally responsible manner,” Coun. Keith Yacucha said during the May 1 meeting.
Yacucha noted that while he’d be open to looking into increasing amenity fees charged to developers during the rezoning process as a means to boost reserve funds and lower taxes, he feared it might disincentivize growth, adding that doing so largely benefits homeowners with higher value properties over renters.
Coun. Colby Harder forecasted hiring more municipal staff would help smooth out the budget deliberation process in the future.
READ MORE: Langford proposes extra 1% tax hike, delay to new RCMP detachment
bailey.moreton@goldstreamgazette.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.