If youB次元官网网址檝e ever watched one of those TV ads saying you can help for just pennies a day, then youB次元官网网址檒l get what the City of Langford was trying to do when it announced its proposed tax hike.

LangfordB次元官网网址檚 proposed five-year financial plan was announced in a recent city news release that laughably tried to downplay a ginormous proposed tax increase of 11.94 per cent B次元官网网址� one of the biggest hikes IB次元官网网址檝e ever heard of.

The news release broke it down to how many cents per day it would cost taxpayers.

B次元官网网址淭he proposed tax increase, although high, equates to an average increase of $0.66 cents per day for an average residential property,B次元官网网址� said the release.

Go away with this obvious attempt to mute the cost to an average residential property owner.

I mean why not go further and say how much it will cost per hour to make it seem like itB次元官网网址檚 even less? Seriously, in 30 years IB次元官网网址檝e never seen a city try this, um, strategy.

ItB次元官网网址檚 $240 a year B次元官网网址� just say it.

People can smell when governments are trying to play them.

Look, I get the City of Langford is nervous about backlash for such a large property tax hike.

I know some taxpayers wonB次元官网网址檛 like to hear this, but there are some good reasons why the tax hike proposed is so large.

The city accurately pointed out that there are a lot of cost pressures on the city, including adding more firefighters, cops, city staff, plus inflation B次元官网网址� which hurts B次元官网网址� and having to come up with nearly a million dollars to bail out the YM/YWCA.

If the city truly believes in these things, then just own the tax hike and defend it.

I know the former mayor has lashed out at the city over the tax hike, saying the city should use more of the general amenity reserve fund to offset taxes. But the city has accurately pointed out that this approach isnB次元官网网址檛 sustainable.

The cityB次元官网网址檚 director of finance pointed out that continuing this approach will have a B次元官网网址渃ompounding effectB次元官网网址� on future budgets.

Like I said, just own it.

Taxpayers should brace for big future tax hikes. The following projected tax increases over four years are 7.75%, 6.24%, 5.86% and 5.42%.

But also remember that Langford is hardly the only small town grappling with these cost pressures.

Policing costs, especially, feel like they are spiralling out of control and towns are struggling to pay for them.

Langford, it should be noted, still has lower overall taxes than the average same-sized municipalities regionally and across the province, according to the city.

So things could be a lot worse.

Chris Campbell is an editor with Black Press Media at the Victoria news hub. You can follow him on Twitter @shinebox44.