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City of Duncan considering 11.3% tax hike in 2025

Much of the increase related to growing costs of policing
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The City of Duncan is looking at an 11.3 per cent tax increase in 2025. (Citizen file photo)

The City of Duncan is considering a 11.3 per cent tax increase in 2025.

A statement from the city said approximately 11 per cent of the proposed tax increase in the draft budget for 2025 is due to escalating policing costs, which are mandatory.

Before 2021, the city’s population was below 5,000 residents and the province was fully financially responsible for providing policing and law enforcement to the municipality, as it is for all municipalities with populations under 5,000 in B.C.

But Duncan’s population surpassed the 5,000 mark in the 2021 census and the city had to start paying 70 per cent of its policing costs for the first time, as required by the provincial Policing Act. With this change, the city negotiated with the province to determine how many police officers Duncan would be required to fund.

Based on the number of calls for service in the area, the province required the city to fund eight officers in 2022, increasing by one officer each year until reaching 12 officers in 2026.

The city must also contribute proportionally to the operating costs of the new North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP detachment building, administration, and equipment.

“Council will continue to work with residents to navigate the costs of the critical policing services that help keep our community safe,” said Mayor Michelle Staples. “We recognize the ongoing financial pressures many face and the need for careful consideration of how resources are allocated. Policing is an essential service, but it’s also about finding the right balance to ensure safety, trust, and fairness in how our community is serviced by provincial policing.”

The city said its residents should also be aware that there may be an impending download of 911 police dispatch costs from the province to local governments in the coming years.

E-Comm 911 is a multi-municipality agency that provides emergency communications operations for British Columbia whose costs are currently being paid by the federal and provincial governments.

But Duncan, North Cowichan and Ladysmith, as well as seven other communities on south Vancouver Island, had been told by the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General that they will be responsible for taking over 100 per cent of the costs of the E-comm 911 service as of April 1, 2025.

However, the province announced in December that it is initiating an independent review of E-Comm 911 service across B.C. after concerns were raised by a number of stakeholders.

“While this transition is still under review and does not impact the 2025 budget, residents should anticipate future costs associated with this change,” the city said.

The city’s tax increase in 2024 was 7.72 per cent.

The proposed 11.3 per cent tax increase in 2025 translates to an estimated additional $214 per year for homeowners with a single-family residential property valued at the 2025 average price of $585,448.

Duncan residents are invited to attend a presentation on the draft 2025 budget on Jan. 27, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., at City Hall, and to attend committee of the whole meetings about the budget on Feb. 3 and March 3 at City Hall at 10 a.m.

Detailed information about the City’s draft budget can be found at: https://bigconversations.duncan.ca/2025-budget-information.

In British Columbia, municipalities are required to finalize their budgets before May 15 of each year.

 



Robert Barron

About the Author: Robert Barron

Since 2016, I've had had the pleasure of working with our dedicated staff and community in the Cowichan Valley.
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