'It's ridiculous': Langford mayor defends proposed 12% property tax hike
A proposed 12 per cent property tax increase for Langford residents isn’t sitting well with many.
The public will get the opportunity to give its thoughts on Langford’s draft budget on Thursday night at a committee of the whole meeting.
"It’s just several large ticket items that just came to us," said Langford Mayor Scott Goodmanson on Thursday afternoon.
Those items include funding for four new police officers, nine new firefighters, six new staff at Langford City Hall, general inflation and the doubling of Langford’s financial support for the YMCA/YWCA.
"Even with that jump, we’re still the fourth lowest taxes in the CRD, and we’re the third largest city," said Goodmanson.
Former Langford mayor Stew Young says an increase of this magnitude never would have happened under his and past council's watch.
"It’s ridiculous and not warranted," said Young.
Young says over the last 30 years, tax increases in Langford have averaged two per cent per year. Taxes were kept low through a community amenity fund, paid for by developers.
"Development, as it comes to Langford, paid amenity fees to reduce the taxes to the existing residents so that they wouldn’t have to pay over the cost of living at any time," said Young.
Now the city is doing away with using that amenity fund to subsidize property taxes.
"The five year plan is to reduce and stop using general amenity funds because there’s not much left in that account," said Goodmanson.
The mayor says there is only about $2.5-million left in the account.
"You don’t want to constantly rely on that," he said.
Young says he’s hearing some developers are no longer looking to invest in Langford, meaning replenishing that amenity fund could be challenging for the new council.
Municipalities across the region are facing higher tax increases this year as well.
Saanich is looking at a 7.1 per cent tax increase, Oak Bay is projecting a nine per cent rise and Nanaimo is eyeing a 7.3 per cent increase.
With the cost of almost everything going up, people are feeling the pinch.
Many in Langford say a 12 per cent increase on their property taxes could be their breaking point.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
2 military horses that broke free and ran loose across London are in serious condition
Two military horses that bolted and ran miles through the streets of London after being spooked by construction noise and tossing their riders were in a serious condition and required operations, a British government official said Thursday.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.