City Council held a Committee of the Whole meeting yesterday afternoon to pour through the 2021 budget and 5-year financial plan.
Municipal taxpayers are looking at a 3.95% tax increase, but with $42 million in new construction, those new properties could help bring tax increases down further according to Mayor Sharie Minions.
“It’s not an issue we’ve dealt a lot with in the past because we haven’t seen the significant amount of investment in our community like we’re seeing now,” she said. “The benefit of that is we have the ability to reduce taxes more than we would have otherwise, so now it’s just a matter of how we will allocate that across property classes and looking at a few different options for what makes the most sense and creates the most equity.”
Garbage collection fees will be increasing this year from $135 to $180 per household with the introduction af a three-can divided waste stream.
Representatives from the SAN Group told council they’re concerned about what they see as a doubling of the Light Industrial tax rate from 2.13% to 5.3%.
Dennis Hickson called the proposed increase “unfair” and said it would be a clear dissincentive for light industry to invest in Port Alberni.
Council will hold an E-town Hall meeting on March 1st to hear community concerns about this year’s budget.
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