The City of Langford is proposing a manageable tax increase for 2022, but taxpayers may be looking at larger tax hikes down the road.

The cityB次元官网网址檚 five-year financial plan, details of which are still to be finalized by Langford council, projects a 2.95-per-cent increase for this year. That would translate approximately to an extra $48 in municipal property tax on a representative home, according to Donna Petrie, the cityB次元官网网址檚 manager of business development and events.

The proposed increase is lower than the five per cent originally forecast, but the current draft calls for bigger increases in future years: 5.84 per cent for 2023, 5.80 in 2024, 7.91 in 2025 and 6.07 per cent in 2026.

With budget discussions still ongoing those numbers are subject to change, Petrie wrote in an email.

This yearB次元官网网址檚 lower than forecast increase resulted from B次元官网网址渉igher than projected revenues due to the continued growth in the city, as well as increased use of surplus and development funded reserves to stabilize the tax increase.B次元官网网址�

Coun. Matt Sahlstrom, who chairs councilB次元官网网址檚 finance committee, called the smaller number fantastic news, echoing PetrieB次元官网网址檚 comment that growth in the cityB次元官网网址檚 tax base helped reduce the need for a higher increase.

In a report presented to council, city staff said this yearB次元官网网址檚 increase could be even lower, but doing so would impact future yearsB次元官网网址� tax increases and/or money available to spend on operations and capital projects B次元官网网址� which could hurt service levels. Council supported the proposed 2.95-per-cent increase.

Priorities in this yearB次元官网网址檚 budget include hiring three more firefighters and three RCMP officers B次元官网网址� the plan calls for an additional two officers to be hired in each of the next four years. Also set for this year is the full-time opening of the number 2 fire hall at Happy Valley and Sooke roads.

The proposed construction of a West Shore RCMP building is a longer-term project, and discussions are underway between Langford, the RCMP and the other West Shore municipalities served by the detachment to determine the requirements of a new building, Petrie said.

Some of the other projects are set to be complete imminently, with the trail loop around Langford Lake set to be complete next week, but moving the BC Hydro pole to allow for more seating along the northside of Starlight Stadium wonB次元官网网址檛 happen this year. Moving the pole should be done by May 2023, with new seating added to Starlight Stadium around the middle of Pacific FCB次元官网网址檚 2023 season (this yearB次元官网网址檚 Canadian Premier League regular season is running from April to early October.)

Council will hold a final vote on the five-year financial plan bylaw and the tax rate bylaw at a future meeting.

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