Metchosin residents facing double-digit property tax increases for 5 years: report

The first draft of Metchosin’s five-year financial plans forecasts large tax increases, with an 11.7 per cent hike required to cover the district’s projected spending for 2023.

That figure is relatively tame compared with the following four years, which are set to all be double-digit increases, peaking at a 21.3 per cent tax hike in 2026. The year 2027 also calls for a 20.6 per cent increase.

The 11.7 per cent hike will cover a $385,000 spending deficit in 2023, something that’s been a rare occurrence for the District of Metchosin which has accumulated over $8 million in various reserve funds targeted at different areas of spending.

This year’s budget continues the past year’s pattern of contributing to those reserves, with nearly $1.58 million going into reserve funds. More than half of that is going into the roads reserve fund, though $523,999 is being taken out of that fund in 2023.

Policing is the biggest estimated cost increase, with $800,000 budgeted for 2023, up from $603,000 in 2022 and just $3,000 in 2021. That was before the new census data came in putting Metchosin over the 5,000 population threshold where it becomes responsible for policing costs.

The cost of transportation services also went up by more than $100,000 compared with 2022 – transportation was the biggest ticket item overall on the budget, comprising just under a third of the district’s total spending of $6.23 million.

Negotiations between the district and West Shore RCMP are ongoing to determine exactly how much policing will cost.

Back in May 2022, Todd Preston, superintendent for West Shore RCMP, said that for a community of its size, Metchosin would need a ratio of one police officer for every 875 people, meaning the district would need to pay for six officers.

Added to those costs are two support staff (the ratio for officers to support staff is 3:1), a number of service costs that come with being within the West Shore RCMP detachment and 5.8 per cent of the rental costs of the West Shore RCMP detachment as office space for those staff.

At $200,000 per officer (30 per cent covered by the federal government), plus $60,000 to $70,000 for each support staff (100 per cent Metchosin), the costs would come to just under $1 million.

The district’s finance committee was set to discuss the proposed five-year plan during a meeting on Tuesday (Feb. 21), which was cancelled.

The budget will come before council at a later date. The District of Metchosin was not immediately available for comment.

READ MORE: Metchosin could see tax hike for policing costs after growing past 5K residents