Victoria homeowners are facing just under an eight per cent tax increase this year — slightly less than what was proposed in the city’s draft budget.
The budget approval, which passed 6-3 on Monday, was a victory for the Victoria and Esquimalt Police Board, since the $72.1-million police budget was approved in its entirety.
“This is a remarkable endorsement of the police budget,” said Mayor Marianne Alto, who noted that in her 14 years on council, a police budget has never passed without a change.
Alto, who is co-chair of the Victoria and Esquimalt Police Board, also noted that council added in $280,000 to cover the cost of the VicPD’s late-night task force.
The police board had requested a $4.6 million or 6.86 per cent budget increase for 2024. Victoria is responsible for just over 86 per cent of the police budget —- $62.27 million in 2024 — with Esquimalt picking up the rest of the tab.
The city’s 2024 operating budget, which includes 200 programs and services and the police budget, is estimated at $328.3 million, a 9.44 per cent increase over last year’s.
According to a staff report, the cost increases are largely due to inflation, continued supply-chain challenges and labour shortages. The report also noted construction costs have increased by nearly 55 per cent over the last six years, and are expected to jump between five and 10 per cent in the next three years.
While inflationary and labour costs resulted in a 5.86 per cent increase in the tax lift, the police budget adds 2.4 per cent.
Councillors Stephen Hammond, Chris Coleman and Marg Gardiner voted against the budget, while Alto, and councillors Matt Dell, Susan Kim, Jeremy Caradonna, Dave Thompson and Krista Loughton voted in favour.
“I think it’s too much of a lift,” said Hammond, whose proposal to significantly cut reserve-fund allocations to reduce the tax increase to just over six per cent was defeated Monday.
Hammond said projections suggest homeowners face property-tax increases totalling nearly 50 per cent in the next five years.
“I think that’s too much for the residents, the taxpayers, and the businesses who are taxpayers as well,” he said.
Coun. Chris Coleman agreed, saying council “needs to do more work.” “Sadly, this is probably the first time that I will have voted against the budget,” he said. “The lift, from my perspective, is too high.”
A series of amendments passed Monday managed to slightly whittle down the 8.37 per cent hike suggested by city staff’s draft budget to 7.93 per cent.
They included reducing the parking reserve allocation by $700,000, cutting the contribution to the housing reserve fund by $150,000 and providing $250,000 for Canada Day out of the Our Downtown program rather than property taxes.
The budget also created a new grant program that is meant to standardize social grants, and a new heritage revitalization program to be administered by the Victoria Civic Heritage Trust.
Alto suggested the budget, while not perfect, found a balance.
“Is this difficult for our taxpayers? Yes. Will it continue to be for some years? Probably. But we will, as we look at each year, try and make that easier and easier,” she said, adding the level of government that has to provide the most day-to-day services gets the least amount of tax money to do it.
Alto said council has made decisions in the budget to invest in the downtown and the city’s heritage, while supporting Victoria’s core services and infrastructure.
Thompson said homeowners — particularly single-family homeowners — have seen their property values increase significantly, and “being asked to contribute a bit more now is entirely reasonable.”
Council approved a capital budget of $82.6 million to upgrade and rehabilitate infrastructure. That budget is funded primarily through user fees for water and sewer, grants received for specific projects, and reserves. More than 60 per cent of the capital budget is allocated to transportation, equipment purchases and sewers.
On the revenue side of the ledger, tax and parking revenue has increased.
There should also be more revenue this year as a result of increased parking fines. Fines in metered and time-limited zones will increase to $60 and fines in residential, no-stopping and commercial zones will increase to $80.
There will also be a new parking-rate increase in 90-minute zones. Drivers will now pay $4 per hour instead of $3.50.
The budget allocates 2023’s $1.5-million surplus to continue to fund a program to mitigate the impacts of overnight sheltering in public spaces and to continue the work of the city’s parks relocation co-ordinator, who helps find housing for people sheltering in parks.
The plan still needs to receive final approval in April.
