Anti-tax crusader clashes with Chilliwack City Council over 4.4% tax increase, lack of survey responses

The Financial Plan authorizes a property tax increase of 4.48 per cent to fund council objectives like additional public safety personnel.

But Raddysh was having none of it Tuesday night as he spoke at the podium more than once.

“You may remember that I come quite often and my standard request is zero per cent tax increase,” Raddysh said. “I’ve lived in Chilliwack for almost 25 years now. Every year there’s been a tax increase, through good times and bad times. I want to say right now that most people in this room would probably agree that we’re in kind of a bad time, right? Would you? Inflation. My three kids own houses; they’re on variable mortgage rates. These things are not good for the standard wage earner, 30-something kid.”

He argued that only 440 survey responses about the 2023 Financial Plan, in a city of over 100,000 residents, did not constitute wide-ranging, comprehensive feedback from residents.

Speaking directly to Glen Savard, the finance director for the City of Chilliwack, Raddysh said, “Mr. Savard, you presented some data on surveys. How many people responded to those surveys? Last year it was 550 out of 100,000 population base, that’s less than one per cent. I contend that the council really has a passing glance of the things that we really need in our community. I can afford $200 more taxes a year. I can. But now that I’m retired, how much longer will that be the case?”

Later in the meeting when Raddysh again pressed city council members on the lack of more survey respondents, Savard confirmed that the city received 440 survey responses for the 2023 budget and/or financial plan. Raddysh continued to pounce on what he considered a small sample size.

That’s when Councillor Chris Kloot had heard and seen enough.

“I do want to be clear that we do reach out through our social media channels to engage Chilliwack,” Councillor Kloot said. “We send out a notice with our property taxation notice. There’s no way or ability that we have forcing people to come into chambers this evening to address that. Yeah, it might only be only 440 [survey respondents], it’s unfortunate. There’s only 23 per cent of people voting. That’s also unfortunate.”

Image: City of Chilliwack / Councillor Chris Kloot pushed back on Gary Raddysh’s claim that the City had not sufficiently engaged its residents on the 2023 Financial Plan, saying it was impossible for the City to go door to door to ask residents about their views on budget priorities.

Raddysh quickly countered that it was the fault of councillors that number wasn’t higher.

Kloot shot back, “I’m not going to debate this. There’s no way we can go door to door to everybody in the community.”

Councillor Bud Mercer quietly counteracted Raddysh by saying he had lived and worked around the world, and Chilliwack was second to none.

Image: City of Chilliwack / Councillor Bud Mercer said he was proud of the work from the City of Chilliwack.

“I think we do an incredible job in Chilliwack,” Mercer said. “I’ve had the blessing and pleasure of living and working around the world. We do a great job here with what we have. We’re second to nobody and proud of what we do. We’re proud of our city.”

In the end, councillors approved the 4.4 per cent tax increase.

by Mike Vanden Bosch

Anti-tax crusader clashes with Chilliwack City Council over 4.4% tax increase, lack of survey responses

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