Colwood City Council approved its budget for the 2012-2013 fiscal year, along with a property tax increase that falls below the rate of inflation.
The final figure is a property tax increase of 2.8 per cent, which will work out to about $39 per average household.
This is below the rate of inflation, which for Canada in 2011 averaged at 2.9 per cent, and lower than the 3.25 per cent increase in Victoria and the 2.9 per cent increase in Langford.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e really happy about that,B次元官网网址� Colwood Coun. Rob Martin said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e happy that we beat both Langford and Victoria as well, that they were both higher.B次元官网网址�
Martin, who chairs the strategic and financial planning committee, said that there were challenges for the cityB次元官网网址檚 budgeting, including an 11 per cent hike to its West Shore Parks and Recreation contribution and a similar increase for the Greater Victoria Public Library.
B次元官网网址淓ven with these increases and us controlling these costs ... weB次元官网网址檝e been able to do some pretty strong things this next year, or budget at least for them.B次元官网网址�
Among the supplementary requests approved were $7,000 for the school crossing guard program and $5,000 for grave site repairs at Colwood Pioneer Cemetery.
Costs associated with hiring an extra West Shore RCMP officer, along with built-in raises, also added challenging expenses, but ended up fitting into the budget. The extra officer is budgeted at $68,500, while the pay raise is expected to be only about $4,000, even though the exact cost is not yet known.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not dramatic,B次元官网网址� said Coun. Gordie Logan, protective services committee chair, B次元官网网址渨hich was a pleasant surprise.B次元官网网址�
A new plotter scanner has been budgeted at $10,000. This will allow staff too B次元官网网址渄igitize and plot large format drawing used by engineering, planning and building,B次元官网网址� said a staff report. Martin said this, along with improvements to software, will help speed up processing development permits.
B次元官网网址淪o weB次元官网网址檙e doing a lot of really positive things in Colwood, as well as trying to control our costs,B次元官网网址� said Martin. B次元官网网址淚 think both staff and council can be really proud of what weB次元官网网址檝e done.B次元官网网址�
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