91原创 Township's draft budget contains a possible 4.5-per-cent increase in property taxes this year, below last year's 6.88-per-cent increase.
The increase is broken up into two portions 鈥� a 3.58-per-cent increase for general services, plus the Township is putting a 0.92-per-cent increase for the infrastructure renewal fund.
The draft budget, which has not yet been finalized, contains two new RCMP officers, a number of new firefighters 鈥� a new cohort of 11 started in early January 鈥� and two new bylaw officers. The bulk of the tax increase comes from increases to protective services.
The budget for core services actually dropped slightly from last year, going down 0.4 per cent.
While increased tax revenue from new development is offsetting some costs, the Township is still dealing with inflation from recent years, as well as increases in salaries for unionized workers, as well as RCMP officers. The tax increase is higher than the current rate of inflation, which was about 2.3 per cent in 2024.
The infrastructure renewal fund, which makes up a significant fraction of the tax increase, is to create a long-term fund for upgrading and replacing key pieces of infrastructure, such as local roads, bridges, and facilities, as they reach the end of their useful lives.
According to the Township's draft budget report, user pay utilities are all going up, and at a much faster rate than the base property tax levels.
User pay utilities cover sold waste (trash, recycling, and green waste pickup), water, and sewer fees.
Water is going up 8.71 per cent, solid waste is going up 12.56 per cent, and sewer is going up a considerable 28.69 per cent. A large portion of the sewer increase is because of a levy by Metro Vancouver to pay for the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant, which has been plagued by difficulties, is years behind schedule, and massively over budget.
Those utilities are not paid by all Township residents. Residents who are on well water and use septic tanks don't pay for water and sewer, for example. Some rural residents don't get municipal trash collection, and many residents in condos have their own trash and recycling removal contracts, organized and paid for through their strata councils.
The Township council doesn't have full control over user pay utilities, especially water and sewer, which are dependent on what Metro Vancouver charges.
Along with property taxes, residents will get an increase in the levy for the Fraser Valley Regional Library, which serves the Township and many other communities in the region. That's going up 9.1 per cent this year, amounting to a $9.74-annual increase per household. Part of that is for the wider library system, and part of the increase is for future Township library facilities in Aldergrove and Willoughby.
The budget also includes paying off some debt early with surplus funds from last year.
Municipal tax rates have increased sharply during the last few years across many Lower Mainland municipalities, as all cities coped with inflation and other rising costs.
The Township will now move on to public consultation on the budget. The property tax rate could be adjusted based on whether or not the council votes to cut or change items on the proposed budget.
At the meeting on Monday, Jan. 27, councillors discussed the budget, made a number of suggestions for possible addition items to be funded this year, and quizzed staff about specific spending.
