Nanaimo council eyeing 7.3% tax increase in upcoming budget

Two new full-time clean-up teams are on the City payroll, which came on board this year but the full costing won’t be shown until next year.

“We have to pay interest on our tax installment account…with interest rates rising, we’ve had to pay more interest on those accounts, but the flip side of that, we’re getting more investment income. So we pay out on one side but when we invest our excess cash we’re getting really good rates right now that offsets some of the increases.”

The final budget has to be finalized by May 15, and Mercer said a few things could happen between then and now which would affect the proposed tax increase.

“Things like growth, we will have increased revenue from growth. We currently have in the budget, $1.2 million for growth, and if it comes in higher than that, that’s good because it will lower the amount of money we need from taxation increase.”

Any motions made by Council members between now and May could also impact the final numbers.

Director of finance Laura Mercer helped break down budget details during the eTOWN Hall on Monday, Dec. 5, 2022. (City of Nanaimo)

The annual eTown Hall discussing the 2023-2027 financial plan was held during the regular council meeting on Monday, Dec. 5.

Members of the public were invited to ask budget-related questions either in person or through a variety of online channels.

Councillor Tyler Brown said these town halls provide the community with a good chance to address Council directly, but it was clear from Monday’s meeting citizens have more on their mind than just the upcoming budget.

The hour-long discussion had questions ranging from addressing crime, homelessness, the building of carriage homes, and increasing property taxes on vacant commercial buildings.

Brown said he’s always thought past eTown Hall’s were a “fairly positive experience”, but it might be a good idea to provide an easy-to-read breakdown of the topic-specific questions citizens can as during events like this.

“I think that would be a good conversation point for Council to have around. We do try to push out as much information as we can on the budget, and our staff tried to do so in a format that’s easily digestible and understood. There’s challenges there and always room for improvement.”

Some residents who submitted questions online or spoke in person seemed to use this chance to express their own personal city issues which aren’t directly related to the upcoming budget.

Councillors agreed there’s clearly an appetite for a town-hall-style event with questions more focused on specific issues.

New councillor Janice Perrino said it’s great to see this level of citizen engagement on the budget and other issues.

“People have lots of opportunities through Facebook, phone in, being there as well as just sending them (questions) into the website, so I thought it was good participation and I’m glad to see the public is involved in what’s happening. It’s their budget, it’s their taxpayer dollars, so I’m glad they’re involved.”

She said issues like public safety and security are clearly top of mind for residents.

“At this point, we’re still diving into exactly what’s going to unfold as far as the final budget is and what the tax implications are. We’re trying to keep it as tight as we can, but it’s certainly tough. I’ll be the first to admit, seeing the number (of calls) that our fire department has to face on a daily basis is really shocking and we need to support the safety of our citizens.”

The 2023-2027 financial plan has yet to be finalized, with the first three readings of the provisional plan will up for discussion during the Dec. 19 regular council meeting.

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by Jordan Davidson

Nanaimo council eyeing 7.3% tax increase in upcoming budget

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