Nanaimo property owners will face a 7.2 per property tax increase this year — an additional $178 per year for a typical home.
The average homeowner will pay $2,163 per year for city services such as infrastructure maintenance, garbage collection, parks and development applications.
The city, which is facing ongoing problems with public disorder downtown, says the budget includes money for 20 new firefighters, beefed-up downtown parkade cleaning, continuing a vandalism relief grant program, downtown ambassadors, two community clean-up teams, and a dozen community safety officers to support an existing program.
This year will be the first full year for four additional RCMP bike patrol members added to the budget in 2022. The officers will patrol downtown and work with the community outreach team.
Mayor Leonard Krog said Wednesday the budget balances the need to make significant investments to improve public safety with providing overall services to the community. “With a strong economy and a growing population, we can and must replace critical infrastructure and build for the future.”
Nanaimo is among Canada’s fastest-growing cities, recently topping 100,000 in population.
Property taxes are due July 4. Late payment penalties of two per cent are applied after that until Aug. 31, when the penalty rises to eight per cent.
Tax notices also include payments for the Regional District of Nanaimo, the Nanaimo Regional Hospital District, the Vancouver Island Regional Library, School District 68, and B.C. Assessment.
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