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City of Nelson considers largest residential tax increase in six years

Police expenses are contributing to a 5.8% residential taxation proposal
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The city will hold a public budget presentation on a date in April to be announced, at which the public can ask questions or make suggestions. Council will then vote on the tax increase. Photo: Bill Metcalfe

The City of Nelson’s chief financial officer has proposed a 5.8 per cent general tax increase for 2023, over half of which is related to rising police costs.

At council’s March 14 meeting, Chris Jury said the average residential property tax in 2022 was $1,830. This year’s proposed increase would take that to $1,936 for 2023, which amounts to an average increase of $106 per year or $8.85 per month.

Jury said the increase was affected by inflation, which was 5.9 per cent in January but is expected by the Bank of Canada to drop to 3.5 per cent by summer.

City council will vote on the new budget later this spring.

One of the drivers of the tax increase is the return of the Nelson Police Department to full strength for the first time in a two years, which alone will account for 3.3 per cent of the proposed increase according to Jury.

In an email to the Nelson Star following the council meeting, he said that during the past year even though the department was technically fully staffed, “they did have to deal with covering off shifts for members who were unavailable due to injury, illness, or other.”

In November, the Nelson Police Department asked council for a 6.8 per cent increase for 2023. Jury told the Nelson Star in an email that this year’s proposed budget does provide that increase, “with some adjustments to reflect staffing changes and for WorksafeBC rates that have since been updated.”

Jury said the city also has had to offset the loss of a payment of $51,000 to the police department from the RCMP, because the shorthanded department had to withdraw one officer from the RCMP’s Integrated Road Safety Unit. This amounts to a 0.5 per cent tax increase, he said.

Also, a general increase in the cost of city services, including annual pay increases for the city’s unionized employees, amounts to an increase of $195,000 or a two per cent increase.

Jury said a useful rule of thumb is that an expenditure of $98,500 amounts to a one per cent tax increase.

His presentation to council can be viewed online at https://bit.ly/3JMmWjA starting at 20:47.

Residential tax increases over the past six years in Nelson were 6.5 per cent in 2017, three per cent in 2018, two per cent in 2019, zero per cent in 2020, 1.75 per cent in 2021 and four per cent in 2022.

The city will hold a public budget presentation on March 30 where the public can ask questions or make suggestions. In the following weeks, council will vote on the tax increase proposal.

Councillor Keith Page, pointing out that these annual presentations are typically poorly attended, urged staff to send out a physical mail-out to all households announcing it, and Mayor Janice Morrison agreed that staff will be asked to do this.

In January, council voted to increase water and sewer rates by two per cent for 2023. Those costs are not included in city property taxes but are paid for by households and businesses with an annual user fee.

Jury’s March 14 presentation did not include business taxes and many other aspects of the budget, all of which will be included in the public presentation in April.

READ MORE:

Nelson sewer and water fees up 2% for 2023 to cover inflation

Nelson Hydro proposes 4% increase for urban customers, 9.9% for rural

Nelson Police Department asks city council for 6.8% increase for 2023



bill.metcalfe@nelsonstar.com

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Bill Metcalfe

About the Author: Bill Metcalfe

I have lived in Nelson since 1994 and worked as a reporter at the Nelson Star since 2015.
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