Image: Chilliwack City Hall / File / Mike Vanden Bosch / Pattison Media

By Fraser Valley Today Staff

Property Taxes

Chilliwack residents could face significant property tax increase in 2024

Nov 20, 2023 | 6:00 AM

CHILLIWACK — Running a municipality is an expensive business these days. Like its residents who are contending with the rising cost of living, the City of Chilliwack will consider increasing its taxes by more than 5.5 per cent to maintain current service levels and ensure its legal financial obligations are met within its ten-year Financial Plan. The increase would be 7.32 per cent to meet its financial obligations and costs to meet City Council’s objectives.

In a staff report that will go in front of City Council Tuesday (Nov. 21), city staff say high levels of inflation continue to impact the local economy and city hall’s own finances. It says the City is experiencing rising costs for many of its core services.

It cites Chilliwack’s road resurfacing program as an example of the challenging cost increases. “The price of asphalt has escalated by 46 per cent since 2021, so without an increase to the annual program budget, less road repaving can occur with the previous year’s level of funding,” states the report.

It says operational costs have escalated right across the different departments within the City including in areas such as labour, materials, libraries, recreation facilities and contracted services such as the RCMP and BC Transit.

To add to the cost challenges, City Council took steps to provide Chilliwack residents with the lowest level of property taxes in the Lower Mainland last year. Council took the step with the belief taxpayers were already dealing with the effects of high inflation. “This meant only minimal additions in public safety were added to the budget, with the hope that inflation would level off and begin to reduce for 2024,” states the report. It goes on to read, “unfortunately, inflation and non-discretionary costs remain high for City services and have impacted this year’s proposed Financial Plan.”

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Image: City of Chilliwack report / Property taxes across B.C. Lower Mainland.

The staff report says provincial statistics show Chilliwack has the lowest business and property general taxation levels among 19 Lower Mainland communities. It credits Chilliwack’s no-debt capital financing policy in part for the lower taxes. But it also recognizes the policy may have to change when it states, “there are compromises that must be made in ensuring financial obligations and service needs are being met, while keeping property taxes as affordable as possible for the community.”

Staff is recommending Council move forward with the Financial Plan in its current state and stage a public information meeting for Chilliwack residents on December 5. Following adjustments made in the wake of public input, Council will adopt the Financial Plan and deliver it to the province by the deadline of May 15.

The ten-year Financial Plan is prepared by the municipality to meet its legal obligations under B.C.’s Community Charter. It’s meant to strategically assist municipalities in fiscal planning for future civic needs.