Hello there!

Two of this month's municipal budget processes highlight the different paths available to councils facing high budget increases in the growing Westshore.

Is it better to trim 2025 budgets, mitigating property tax increases (and their political ramifications) at the cost of delivering fewer services and facing higher increases in the next few years? Or is it better to eat a noticeably high increase this year, in the hopes of keeping up or even expanding services and avoiding similar hikes going forward?

Today we look at two local councils that faced 15% increases and chose different paths.

— Cam

NEWS

Langford reduces 2025 tax increase by a third, bringing it under 10%

The city's 2025 budget increase has been trimmed from 14.5% to 9.8%. This cuts the monthly hike per household from about $30 to about $20.

Mayor Scott Goodmanson framed the new budget as balancing “continuing to invest in the community, prioritizing public safety, and maintaining service levels” with “the uncertainty of current financial conditions and the need to be prudent.”

What's costing more? 

The city cites the following as cost drivers:

• Inflation

• 9 new firefighters

• 4 new RCMP officers

• Latoria bike lane / sidewalk project

• City services

• 911 dispatch costs

The new firefighters are intended to help restore full service at the Happy Valley station.

E-comm dispatch funding is a new cost that BC says several South Island municipalities must take on this year.

Costs in various city departments are up, though scaled back in this new budget.

About a quarter of cost increases come from rising West Shore RCMP costs. Langford's RCMP budget has risen 80%+ in the 2020s, including a $4M+ rise over the past three years to $15.1M. This year's 15% police budget hike was mitigated slightly by Langford planning to hire four new officers rather than five.  

What was reduced?

About 2% in the overall budget was saved through that and through avoiding several planned hirings within city departments such as parks, finance, and development. Increased revenue from new construction projects will also help offset the increase. 

A month ago council directed staff to try to trim the increase to 11% through cuts to areas such as the city travel and training budget, debt payment, and e-bike rebates. 

How will this affect future budgets? 

Director of finance Michael Dillibeau flagged at the Feb. 20 meeting that delaying items from one year means a tax increase in a future year—through both that item's cost and upward revisions to that future budget because it will be building off of a lower baseline than expected.

Staff are now reviewing the five-year plan in light of the revised 2025 budget.

The next several years were slated to see declining increases of 11.56%, 6.27%, 5.18%, and 5.11%. The city has explained the large hikes of 2024, 2025, and 2026 as part of weaning the city budget off of drawing on reserves to blunt tax increases, an approach taken in past years (especially in response to COVID).

“The high cost of low taxes"

Coun. Keith Yacucha posted the budget update on Reddit this week, and in comment responses acknowledged that there is a “high cost of low taxes.” He said that Langford has a “long history” of tending toward delayed costs, leading to sharp hikes later, over gradual increases—“like pushing snow down the driveway instead of shovelling it.”

Such snowpiles are what Sooke, covered below, is aiming to prevent.

The 2025 budget's three readings are set for one month from now, and the final adoption vote would be May 5. 

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NEWS

Sooke planning for 15% increase as service & infrastructure costs rise

The District of Sooke has so far taken the opposite tack from Langford, sticking with a proposed increase of just under $2M rather than reducing services or rolling costs to future years. The tax increase translates to an average monthly household rise of about $20 based on an average home value of $770K per BC Assessments.

At the March 10 meeting, Sooke council directed staff to budget for a tax increase no higher than 15.29%.

The core cost drivers come from ongoing capital projects (such as Throup-Phillips road project and Demamiel Creek bridge) and asset management, and several key services including the RCMP contract and the E-Comm 911 dispatch service. 

“It’s a bitter pill to swallow for a community that’s been used to much lower increases,” Coun. Tony St. Pierre said, “but at the same time we know that we need the roads and people do need those services.”

In response to concerns about rising future taxes, a 2% tax increase for asset management reserves is planned for the following years, ensuring that Sooke can keep up with maintaining its infrastructure. Council hopes to be able to put up this pre-allocated money as a way to secure grant money for capital projects without having to add new costs for new projects.

Council emphasized that the large increase this year is intended as a way to help Sooke (whose total property taxes are on the low end for the Westshore) handle its growing population.

“While no one enjoys a tax increase,” Mayor Maja Tait said, “we must look at the bigger picture and ensure Sooke’s long-term financial health.”

The budget also anticipates a decline in tax increases over the next few years, with rates projected to stabilize at around 3.37% by 2029.

Read the full story here for more on how exactly the budget is affected by rising RCMP costs, the new E-Comm dispatch change, and discretionary and non-discretionary money.

Around the 'Shore

🎖 Husband wins King Charles III medal for work on Sarah Beckett Memorial Run. The West Shore RCMP officer was killed in 2016 when her police vehicle was hit by an impaired driver. Since 2019, a charity run commemorating her has raised $100K+ for the Boys & Girls Club South VI and Goldstream Food Bank. At the latest Langford Council meeting, her widower Brad Aschenbrenner was given the coronation medal for his work on the event. [CHEK]

🏢 Langford looks to delay tower proposal until after new OCP. The proposal would build 13- and 22-storey towers at Peatt & Sunderland—near the site of a similar failed project. The Sustainable Development Advisory Committee recommended that council not do anything with the application until this summer when the Official Community Plan has given the city a firmer sense of what type of buildings the population wants. [Goldstream Gazette]

🤱 Esquimalt-Colwood MLA votes on budget from hospital after giving birth
Darlene Rotchford received a standing ovation from the legislature when she appeared on screen, with new daughter Josephine, to vote virtually just hours after giving birth. Victoria MLA Grace Lore, who is undergoing chemotherapy, also voted virtually. [Times Colonist]

⚽️ Pacific FC signs UVic soccer star Fin Tugwell to CPL - U SPORTS contract, a special designation that allows Canadian league clubs to give university players pro contracts without them losing college sports eligibility. Tugwell was named the top U SPORTS defender last year. [PFC]

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Community Events

🏰 Royal Roads celebrates Holi & Persian New Year in events today on campus.  

🚔 West Shore RCMP Town Hall is today, 7-9pm at Legion Branch 91 in Langford.

🥣 Open Table Dinner Series with Hide N Seek & Flourish BeauTea in Langford. A showcase of Asian comfort food alongside specialty beverages and pastries. [Friday 6pm]

👩‍🌾 Tour the Royal Roads farm and learn about it today at 1pm. Afterward there will be a book launch & discussion on Climate Justice & Higher Education. [Info]

🏒 Victoria Grizzlies vs Alberni Valley Bulldogs on Saturday. The Grizzlies (26-17-7) look to reverse a 5-game losing streak as the playoffs approach. [Tickets]

🌳 Roots & Renewal Wellness Market at Langford Station this weekend. 11am-4pm both days

🧼🌱 Westshore Town Centre workshops: Make your own soaps in various shapes, scents, and colours [Kids 7-13, Friday 1pm]. The power of crystals, crystal healing and care [Sunday 4pm].

What’s Offshore?

🚢 🚢 Off Colwood coast: San Diego Bridge, a container ship built in 2010, sailing Tacoma to Vancouver under Panama flag 🇵🇦 . HL Taean, a bulk carrier built in 2016 sailing from Yeosu Anchorage (Korea) under Panama flag 🇵🇦.

🚢 Further out: Jupiter Spirit, a 2011-built vehicle carrier sailing from Fukuoka, Japan to New West under a Liberia flag 🇱🇷.

Westshore Snaps

A stunning sunset over the water — Paul Young

A sinister-looking sea creature washed up at Witty's Lagoon. [Doug Clement / Instagram

The perched pose of a Great Blue Heron at Royal Roads [M31 Photography / Instagram]

Dunlins dance with the waves at Esquimalt Lagoon [Nicholas Winston / Instagram]

That’s it!

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