North Cowichan’s tax increase for 2024 has been set at 5.18 per cent, but some councillors are not happy with how council dealt with the budget-building process for the year.
Council gave the fourth and final reading to the budget at its meeting on Feb. 7.
Coun. Christopher Justice said he would like to acknowledge the financial hard times that the municipality, and all other jurisdictions across B.C., are currently enduring, and how difficult it is for the residents of North Cowichan.
But he said the tax increase this year is comparable, or lower, than many other similar-sized communities in B.C.
Justice said Vancouver has approved a 7.5 per cent tax increase in 2024, Nanaimo is projecting an eight per cent increase, Duncan is considering an approximately nine per cent increase, and the Cowichan Valley Regional District is looking at a tax increase in excess of 16 per cent.
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“So, seen in context of what our neighbours are dealing with, we’re doing relatively well,” he said.
But Coun. Bruce Findlay disagreed.
He began his comments saying that they are not a retort to Justice’s comments, although they may come across that way.
“I don’t really care, to be honest, what happens in Duncan, Nanaimo and Vancouver,” Findlay said.
“We have no idea how they managed their budgets over the last few years, so I’m disappointed that we have the increase that we have. I think we at council could have done better to carve back some ‘nice-to-haves’.”
But Findlay conceded there are some substantial increases that council doesn’t have a lot of choice, or input, over, including increases to North Cowichan’s police and fire protection that account for roughly 2.7 per cent of the tax increase, and a significant increase to the municipality’s contribution to the Vancouver Island Regional Library, which makes up a further one per cent.
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“But for the rest, I think we could have tightened the belt a little tighter than we did,” he said.
Coun. Tek Manhas said many items in the budget are outside of North Cowichan’s responsibility and it should be up to senior levels of government to fund them, like clean-up crews along the highway corridor, the restorative justice program and the need to hire a social planner.
He also said that North Cowichan’s environmental department has grown too large.
“Our taxes could be a lot lower if we actually stayed within our lane,” Manhas said.
Mayor Rob Douglas reiterated that the tax increase is lower than many surrounding municipalities, and North Cowichan has managed to keep them low while, at the same time, maintaining high service levels and continuing to make significant investments to its core infrastructure.
“We’re also setting aside additional resources for responding to some of the growing challenges we are facing related to homelessness and street disorder,” Douglas said.
“Our residents, and people all across Canada, are facing rising costs of living right now which is putting significant pressure on households, and I recognize that we have had to make some tough decisions at this council table.”
Douglas said he anticipates that over the next three years of its term, council will face many more challenges related to the rising costs of infrastructure, and more tough decisions will have to be made.
“But I look around this table and I know we’re all residents ourselves,” he said.
“We’re looking out for taxpayers and we’re going to do what we can to try and find savings, while recognizing our long-term commitments.”
The budget passed, with Findlay and Manhas opposed.