'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
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
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.