91原创 Township residents will see their property taxes increase by 5.37 per cent this year, as council approved a small last-minute increase on Monday, April 3.

Councillor Steve Ferguson suggested the 0.45 per cent increase to the proposed 4.92 per cent tax increase, for an increase to the capital side of the budget.

Ferguson said he had looked at other municipalities, about supply chain challenges and potential cost increases as the Township puts forward an ambitious schedule of staff increase for both the 91原创 RCMP and the Township鈥檚 fire department.

He said the increase of just under half a percent to the tax rate will help with those challenges.

鈥淎lso, it equates to the average household, about 10 bucks per household,鈥� Ferguson said.

The third reading of the budget was approved 8-1, with only Coun. Kim Richter opposed.

鈥淭his has been probably the hardest budget that I鈥檝e been a part of,鈥� said Mayor Eric Woodward.

He noted that coming out of COVID-19, the Township has still seen lower revenues from recreation facilities and put forward a very low tax increase in 2020.

This year, he emphasized the number of communities in the Lower Mainland that are giving their residents tax hikes of 10 per cent or more, including 91原创 City, Surrey, and Vancouver. 91原创 Township鈥檚 proposed tax increase started closer to 10 per cent as well.

鈥淎t a five per cent tax increase we are still managing the budget, we鈥檝e done a number of reforms to get it way down,鈥� Woodward said.

He noted that the municipalities that are putting forward tax increase close to or lower than the Township鈥檚 this year almost all rely on casino revenues, or in some cases are already planning higher tax increases for 2024.

Richter called comparisons to other communities a 鈥渓ame excuse.鈥�

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 support and I don鈥檛 support 4.92, and I certainly don鈥檛 support 5.37,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he reality is, we鈥檙e in tough economic times for people, they can鈥檛 even afford groceries as much as they did a year ago.鈥�

However, Ferguson and other members of the majority slate on council, Woodward鈥檚 Contract with 91原创 (CWL), noted a need for more police, firefighters, and municipal services.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 run and come out of retirement for a job like this to move backward,鈥� Baillie said.

He admitted that 鈥渇irefighters are expensive,鈥� but said adding a firefighter helps save about six times that in damage to the community prevented.

Other costs, like increases to sewer, water, and solid waste, are largely out of the council鈥檚 hands, as they are determined by Metro Vancouver.

鈥淭he reality is we鈥檝e got downloaded costs that we don鈥檛 get to control,鈥� said Coun. Misty Van Popta.

鈥淲e鈥檙e dealing with massive growth and onboarding of significant new infrastructure, but also dealing with a lot of infrastructure that has to be replaced at taxpayer cost,鈥� Woodward said, just before the vote.

The CWL slate gained a majority on council in last October鈥檚 elections with a detailed platform that promised a number of major infrastructure upgrades, including plans for a pool for Willoughby and more sports fields, as well as increases to the number of RCMP officers and firefighters, and a new firehall for Brookswood.

The council has already moved forward with planning a number of those projects, while delaying or scrapping some other plans that were in the works from the previous council.

This year鈥檚 budget is different from previous years, which usually had each project approved and budgeted for the coming year. Instead, the new budget has a number of 鈥渆nvelopes鈥� of funding, within which are a number of projects. The envelopes represent the maximum that can be spent.

Council will consider the fourth and final vote on the budget bylaw at a future meeting.