1653 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

Enough is enough: City Hall, stop spending

Our house tax notice has arrived.

I am 80 and I just about fainted. I couldn’t believe it.

$9,500 regular and $1,000 off for being old and having just one house.

The net amount is $8,500, more than 10% of our total household income. Outrageous.

I immediately thought that I should run for mayor just on this single issue of outrageous taxes.

We have deferred for about 10 years, but that option is now useless.

And still they keep upping the taxes at about four times the inflation rate.

On top of these taxes, they unbundled most of the services that they provide. Water, storm water, sewerage, etc. all individually charged and going up faster than inflation.

For crying out loud, Victoria City Hall, hear our plea. You could cut road works in half easily. Most of the time there are so many “road closed” signs we can’t find a way around.

I will be joining Grumpy Taxpayers next to oust the lot of you and get some reason back.

Stop saving the world. Start just serving your citizens.

 

Martin Golder

Victoria

 

https://www.timescol...uction-12297092

[Victoria Watcher]

Tax dollars are going to amateur musicians

Re: “Local governments should step in to save events,” commentary, May 15.

I could only laugh in frustration at the ridiculous comment by Victoria Coun. Matt Dell about his desire to hand out cash to amateur musicians and street revellers, published on the same day I received my property tax bill in the mail.

This guy with lots of friends in the failed music scene voted to reduce the flower baskets in the city and voted to chop down the giant sequoia in Centennial Square.

My property taxes for the home that I have lived in for 29 years have increased by 24.6% in just the past two years.

My property taxes are nearly double what I pay for my provincial income taxes. The waste at city hall must be stopped.

Let’s hope the next set of city councillors don’t waste money like the cabal in there now.

 

Mike Muret

Victoria

 

 

https://www.timescol...uction-12297092

[Mike K.]

Sooke is up 65% since 2021.

I can’t quantify what we are getting for that 65%, aside from a couple of changes.

Keep in mind, this is also one of BC’s fastest growing municipalities. So with 2,000 more residents and let’s say 700 more homes, the taxes are still up 65%.

[Victoria Watcher]

Councillors love to spend our money

 

Re: “Local governments should step in to save events,” commentary, May 15.

Victoria Coun. Matt Dell would “love to hear from others.” He wants to know whether I want more local events?

Well, I would “love” it if Dell spent taxpayers’ money the same way I would hope he spends his own — with just a tiny bit of restraint.

Sure, who doesn’t want “free” community events? As long as they’re not paying for it, who would object?

The problem is that Dell and the rest of his gang of five are eager to spend, spend, spend, without any consideration for taxpayers who are paying for it.

I just got my tax bill in the mail. Did Dell time his commentary perfectly so he could rub salt into my wound after seeing that homeowners of Victoria are being taxed at an increase of over 9 per cent from last year and more than 35 per cent higher since the beginning of his term?

The October election can’t come soon enough. The sooner we get sensible councillors elected, who take just a moment to consider the taxpayers, the better.

 

Vallery Anderson

Victoria

 

 

 

 

 

 

All that generosity means higher taxes

 

Re: “Local governments should step in to save events,” commentary, May 15.

 

Victoria Coun. Matt Dell wrote that “city council stepped in to help save one of ­Victoria’s most beloved community festivals, ­FernFest.”

Without being too picky, it wasn’t council who gave the money; it was the taxpayers who gave that money.

What an unbelievable coincidence that immediately afterwards, Aryze Developments donated an additional $10,000 to FernFest.

If that “surprise” donation came before the majority of council voted to “save” FernFest, then perhaps the taxpayers of Victoria could have been saved that money in the first place.

This is just like the grant (gift) to the Victoria Curling Club of $175,000. That gift was given as long as the curling club raised an additional $75,000, and according to the Times Colonist, the Curling Club found someone who would match that $75,000.

Does that mean taxpayers will get to reduce their contribution to the curling club by $75,000? Is it any wonder that we, as taxpayers, have received outrageous tax increases with this council over the past four years?

 

David Smith

Victoria

 

 

https://www.timescol...rnfest-12302764

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 20 May 2026 - 04:46 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Victoria targets higher voter turnout this fall, makes plans to reduce lineups

 

City staff have set a target of drawing more than 43.5% of eligible voters to the polls on Oct. 17, up from 36.8% in 2022.

https://www.timescol...ineups-12319827

[LJ]

I'm hoping there is a much larger turnout as well, we need enough normal people to vote out this gang.

[Victoria Watcher]

Please, we don’t need deliverance like this

 

Is “Experience That Delivers” the slogan that Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto is hyping in her bid for re-election?

Delivering a property tax increase of 32 per cent over her term — almost three times the rate of inflation, with the promise of more to come.

Delivering a massive salary increase for her and the Gang of Five.

Delivering traffic chaos everywhere.

Delivering expensive services that are outside the scope of council’s mandate.

This “Deliverance” reminds one of nothing more than that 1972 film.

 

Tom Braybrook

Victoria

 

 

https://www.timescol...whales-12353439

 

 

One might say Victoria taxpayers are the recipients of the Ned Beatty treatment here, like in the 1972 film.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 01 June 2026 - 08:13 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Victoria Coun. Dave Thompson is banking on his record in seeking re-election to council and the Capital Regional District board this fall.

First elected in 2022, Thompson came in with the fifth-highest vote (12,271) in a field of 37 council candidates – the most crowded seeking a seat at city hall in Greater Victoria that year. In Victoria, voters also elect their representatives to the CRD.

“Over the past four years, council has made real progress on the things that matter most to Victoria residents: more homes, safer streets, action on climate change, and care for our most vulnerable neighbours,” Thompson said in his announcement. “We’ve improved policies, and we’re starting to see results.”

 

https://vicnews.com/...g-track-record/

[Mike K.]

The do not get to elect their reps to CRD, they just get to suggest.

[Mike K.]

Laughton is in:

Victoria City Councillor Krista Loughton today announced she is seeking re-election launching her 2026 campaign with a continued commitment to tackling housing affordability and the homelessness crisis facing Victoria residents and improving downtown safety and vibrancy.

"I love people and I want every single person in Victoria – no matter their circumstances – to have the opportunity to feel happy, safe, and like they truly belong here,” said Loughton. “Why can't Victoria be that city? I believe it can. I’ve worked hard this term to move things forward and I'm running again to make sure we get there."

Loughton, who has served on Victoria City Council for the past four years, fulfilled every campaign promise she made to constituents in 2022, a record she says reflects her approach to public service. These included voting to support an additional 9,000 housing units (50 per cent rental, 20 per cent affordable) helping Victoria surpass provincial housing targets.

Her re-election campaign will centre on advocating for affordable housing in Victoria and finding indoor spaces for the approximately 200 unsheltered homeless people in the city. This includes actively working with the provincial and federal governments to increase investment and looking at making better use of existing facilities or renovating, rather than building new.

“I believe that the provincial and federal governments don’t need to build new; they need to make better use of the housing stock we already have,” said Loughton.

To achieve this, she is driving initiatives like Positive Flow, a program that provides light support and provincial rent supplements to people in supportive housing who are ready for independent living but priced out of market rents. This creates a chain reaction where people in shelters move into supportive housing, which frees up space in shelters for those on the street. This practical step could free up an estimated 100 units of supportive housing for those still on the street in Victoria, cutting visible homelessness in half.

“Helping people get off the street will make downtown more vibrant for visitors, residents, and businesses; take the pressure off of police and first responders, change the lives of the unhoused, and make Victora more livable for everyone,” said Loughton.

Loughton also hopes to expand her leadership to the CRD Board to better coordinate regional services for homelessness and the critical issues facing our communities.

In addition to her advocacy work, Loughton has championed projects to enhance the community and residents’ mental health. In her tenure to date, she supported the remodel of Crystal Pool & Wellness Centre, the expansion of Banfield Park’s dock, a grant to support FernFest, investment in Hermann’s Jazz Club and bringing the BC Lions to Victoria.

"We are living through a genuinely difficult time and supporting people's mental health has never been more important,” said Loughton. “But I also think about the next generation – the young people who will inherit this beautiful city. We owe it to them, and to each other, to get this right by putting systems in place now that will benefit Victorians over the coming decades."

Loughton's campaign launch event is open to the public and media:

When: Tuesday, June 23, 2026, 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Where: Fort Commons, 1019 Blanshard Street
Members of the media and community are encouraged to attend to hear Loughton’s vision for Victoria's next term of council.

Members of the public are encouraged to provide feedback to Loughton to help shape her 2026 campaign platform through this community survey.

Photo of Loughton available here.

About Krista Loughton: Krista Loughton was born and raised in Brandon, Manitoba, where she earned an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Human Geography and Religious Studies from Brandon University. She moved to Vancouver in 1996 before settling in Victoria in 2005, and today calls Quadra Village home, where she lives with her Mini Australian Shepherd, Jedha. An avid cyclist and outdoor enthusiast, Krista can often be found walking Dallas Road or hiking throughout Vancouver Island – with Hornby Island among her favourite escapes. She is closely connected to Victoria's multicultural communities and brings the spirit of those relationship into civic work. Krista currently serves as President of the Canadian Capital Cities Organization, which brings together Canada's capital cities to celebrate and share the diverse stories that shape our nation.

An award-winning documentary filmmaker and business owner, Krista has spent her career raising issues with all levels of government. Her first feature documentary, Us and Them, made an impact by showing how early childhood trauma correlates to poverty, homelessness and addiction. The film has screened thousands of times throughout North America, including on Parliament Hill and at the British Columbia legislature.

Key Accomplishments (2022–2026)

Housing

§ Updated zoning and planning rules to allow more housing types citywide and speed up approvals

§ Helped Victoria surpass provincial housing targets, with approximately 9,000 new homes approved (50% rental, 20% affordable)

§ Supported delivery of 265 affordable rental homes and 54 supportive homes through the Province's Community Housing Fund

§ Helped secure $5.4 million from the City's Housing Reserve Fund to support 475 new homes

§ Adopted a new Official Community Plan (OCP) to guide future growth and protect renters and families

Homelessness & Outreach

§ Advocated to expand shelter capacity at Our Place Society, My Place, Rock Bay Landing, and the Salvation Army

§ Helped transition St. John the Divine from a winter shelter to a permanent shelter

§ Supported the HEART and HEARTH partnership with the Province, which added248 net new shelter and housing spaces this term

§ Led the creation of the Housing Relocation Support Team, which has housed over 50 people sheltering in City parks, streets, and boulevards

§ Encouraged the launch of the Downtown Street Ambassador Program and Cultural & Youth Outreach Transportation Support Programs

Mental Health

§ Championed expansion of the Co-Response Team, a partnership between Island Health and VicPD

§ Championed the civilian-led Crisis Response, Community Led (CRCL) mobile team

§ Advocated for better alignment between outreach teams, housing pathways, and recovery supports



A full accounting of Loughton’s commitments and outcomes can be found at kristaloughton.ca/2022promises.

[Victoria Watcher]

Nothing about city budget or property taxes.

[Mike K.]

There is a plan to halve homelessness.

[Victoria Watcher]

There is a plan to find another 200 apartments for them it looks like. Then another 200 will arrive.

[Harry]

Laughton is a bit of a twit. I was reading a back and forth on Fb and she cant seem to understand that money that the city uses to do what ever it does money wise its done with tax payer money. The money doesn't just appear out of nowhere.