City taxes could increase 15%

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While city budget discussions are still months away, council received a preliminary glimpse at staff recommendations.

Finance Director Andrew McGifford told council the city requires a 15% increase in taxes in order to meet basic priorities in 2025, which would mean an annual increase of $383 for the average home.

Mayor Sharie Minions is confident council will be able to pare that down somewhat, but warned we have an infrastructure deficit from projects being delayed due to costs, but now they can’t be delayed any longer.

“We have an infrastructure deficit we need to address. Will it get addressed this year in a meaningful way? It’s too soon to say,” she said. “15% is a large tax increase. It’s too large for the average person in our community so there will be work done to that. My position is always to advocate that we don’t simply look at capital but rather we look at operational service levels as well. I think that’s an important piece of the discussion. We can’t forever put off infrastructure renewal while not looking at our operating budgets. They’re hard conversations to have because nobody wants a reduction in service and nobody wants to pay more.”

A half-dozen community groups were at yesterday’s committee of the whole meeting, protesting plans to impose user fees on kids sports and force non-profit events to purchase business licences.