1104 replies to this topic

[lanforod]

I thought Tony is implying that in previous years the tax increases were kept too low to pay for all the costs so now it’s higher. Of course that can be true in spite of inflation but if it is true then either the cities are always spending much faster than inflation or they are majorly mismanaging the increase amounts.
Either way, screwing taxpayers long term.

[Mike K.]

More development brings higher property taxes, housing experts say. More importantly, just housing alone will lead to higher taxation, as commercial spaces typically lower the tax burden for residential rate payers. Langford historically balanced that brilliantly.

“Replacing single-family dwellings with multi-family housing will very likely increase property taxes,” Davidoff said. “If you think ‘expenditure need’ — or how much government needs to spend per capita, for example on police and fire — then property taxes rise or fall with new housing, depending on whether the new homes are more or less expensive than the average property.”

While in some instances populations can increase without increasing the costs of running a city, Davidoff said it’s clearly not always the case.

One way to cover the extra costs of providing for more people, Davidoff said, is for cities to charge developers large fees in exchange for upzoning their properties.

Developers, however, are attacking the “growth pays for growth” argument more than usual these days, since B.C.’s large housing market is going through one of its cyclical downturns, says David Ley, UBC professor emeritus and author of Housing Booms in Gateway Cities.

“There’s a huge deficit in funding for growth, and even some lack of awareness in recognizing the need to do so,” he said.

“The most notable case (of lack of awareness) is the unsustainable immigration growth by the federal government, without any sense of budgeting for infrastructure that must accompany it.”

- https://vancouversun...-property-taxes

[Victoria Watcher]

Saanich council shaves property-tax-hike to 8.02% with spending cuts

The hike is down from the 8.84 per cent contemplated in the last draft version of the financial plan after council endorsed $1.64 million in spending cuts


https://www.timescol...g-cuts-10503255

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 10 April 2025 - 05:34 AM.

[Mike K.]

4x inflation.

[dasmo]

Don’t worry inflation is catching up. Government leads.

[Mike K.]

Sooke is about 8x this year.

[Sparky]

We have just received (for the first time) an "income and expense request" (dated June 5 2025 received in Canada post June 13 2025) from BC Assessment for a commercial rental property that we have owned for 15 years in the City of Victoria. 

 

They would like to know 5 categories of income and 24 categories of expenses and they would like to receive all this information by June 26 2025.

 

What are these socialists up to now?

 

Really? 

[dasmo]

If it’s a request ignore it. If it’s a demand what are the penalties for not complying?

[lanforod]

Can you ignore it?

[Sparky]

I found this 6 year old newspaper article.

 

https://www.timescol...critics-4669124

[dasmo]

Can you ignore it?

Of course you can. The question is, what and if there are consequences.

[Victoria Watcher]

Holloway, a 28-year B.C. Assessment veteran, said there is nothing in the Assessment Act that compels companies to provide B.C. Assessment with information such as income, vacancy rates, expenses and capitalization rates (the return a property is expected to generate before owners service any debt).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Under the Act, we are entitled to the information, so we do ask for it and we do follow up.”

 

The problem is there is no penalty for those who don’t comply.

 

https://www.timescol...critics-4669124

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 13 June 2025 - 09:22 PM.

[dasmo]

See. Rule number one: don’t obey in advance…

[Victoria Watcher]

Presumably this new spending will cost each household about $300 more per year.

[Victoria Watcher]

Rising costs and questionable returns

Why are we paying more in municipal taxes, fees and levies? Are we getting value for our money?

Labour costs account for 50 per cent to 60 per cent of the City of Victoria’s operating costs. What is shocking is that staffing has increased by 68 per cent, from 868 in 2019 to 1,460 in 2024. When considering higher wages, benefits and pensions, the average cost per employee rose by roughly 25 per cent in the same period. Inflation for this period is estimated to be 19 per cent to 21 per cent, based on the consumer price index for the Greater Victoria region.

Are we getting more or better services? It’s hard to imagine that transportation has improved when you sit in endless traffic jams. Repair projects that used to take days or weeks now take weeks, months or, in the case of Blanshard Street, years. Forty-eight per cent of downtown businesses said they would not renew their leases, due to deteriorating conditions.

Are staff serving more citizens? Population growth for Victoria proper has been a modest 7.4 per cent over the past five years. Out-migration is increasing, and businesses are voting with their feet by leaving. Retail vacancy has jumped to 11 per cent.

Who is paying for this largesse? Citizens pay through taxes and fees. Property taxes have increased 35 per cent since 2019. Residential taxpayers are paying $1,100 to $ 1,300 more.



https://www.timescol...ousing-10893379

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 03 July 2025 - 06:25 AM.

[Mike K.]

My property taxes in Sooke are up 55% since 2018.

I feel like I’m getting worse value for the money.

[Victoria Watcher]

City councillors in Greater Vancouver have drawn attention to the outrageous salaries being paid to some mayors.

 

According to Kash Heed, a Richmond councillor, the city’s mayor, Malcolm Brodie, took home nearly $380,000 in 2024.

 

And New Westminster Coun. Daniel Fontaine has pointed out that several regional mayors earn more than provincial cabinet ministers.

 

In 2023, Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley pocketed $235,000. That same year, Delta Mayor George Harvey was paid $201,000, and Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West made $201,688.

 

Some of those mayors may point out that they perform multiple functions.

 

So do provincial cabinet ministers, yet in 2024 their salary stood at $180,000, well below some of those mayoral wage packages. The difference becomes indefensible when job responsibilities are compared.

 

The mayor of Richmond manages an operating budget of $1.9 billion. The province’s health minister is responsible for an operating budget of $35 billion — nearly 20 times the Richmond total.

 

The overpayments don’t stop in ­Vancouver.

 

Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto took home $130,620 last year.

 

And Saanich Mayor Dean Murdock will be paid $151,339 this year, close to a provincial minister’s pay.

 

It’s not only mayors who are living high on the hog. Richmond’s chief ­administrator took home a whopping $582,240 in salary and benefits in 2024.

 

That’s more than the prime minister receives.

 

Victoria’s chief administrator received $313,619 in pay and benefits last year. Those earnings are comparable to the amounts paid to provincial deputy ministers, several of whom manage organizations many times larger in size and complexity.

 

Indeed, the city has 100 workers who make $100,000 or more, plus 126 managers who make more than the $119,500 an MLA gets. Some of those managers earn more than a provincial minister.

 

https://www.timescol...ned-in-10928794

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 11 July 2025 - 04:51 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Richmond councillor, the city’s mayor, Malcolm Brodie, took home nearly $380,000 in 2024.

Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley pocketed $235,000

Delta Mayor George Harvey was paid $201,000

Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West made $201,688

Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto took home $130,620 last year.

Saanich Mayor Dean Murdock will be paid $151,339

 

Richmond’s chief ­administrator took home a whopping $582,240

Victoria’s chief administrator received $313,619

 

(Victoria) city has 100 workers who make $100,000 or more, plus 126 managers who make more than the $119,500

Last year the chief administrator at Saanich made $309,448, while 57 workers earned $100,000 or more, plus 65 managers who were paid more than an MLA, in some cases more than a provincial minister.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 11 July 2025 - 04:56 PM.

[lanforod]

Alto only gets 130k? That’s peanuts for that job. No wonder there’s crap options running for mayor.

[phx]

Alto only gets 130k? That’s peanuts for that job. No wonder there’s crap options running for mayor.

Remember, it’s not a full-time job.