Jan 31 - Property taxes going up as council approves city budget

Good morning !

The BC government says it expects the province’s population to reach 7.9 million by 2046—a projected 44% increase to the current populace which numbers 5.5 million.

BC’s birth rate is lower than other provinces but “higher federal immigration targets and changing immigration policies” are expected to push our population to close to eight million, the government report said.

— Mark

Today’s approx. read time: 5 minutes

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NEWS

Vic taxpayers face a 7.93% tax increase as council approves budget

City Council on Monday voted 6-3 to approve its budget, meaning your property taxes are going up by 7.93%—a slight clawback from the 8.37% increase staff proposed in their 2024-2028 draft financial plan.

VicPD, which also patrols in Esquimalt, received a 6.86% budgetary boost—an increase of $4.6M—pushing the police budget to $72.1M, of which Victoria pays roughly 85%.

Overall, the budget—approximately one-fifth of which goes toward policing, one-fifth to engineering and public works, a fifth to each transfers/reserves and parks and recreation, with various recipients of the rest—will come in at approximately $328M. That’s 9.4% ($12M) more than last year’s. This is to keep up with inflation and to offset labour shortages, increases in construction costs, and supply-chain issues, the city said. 

To make up for it, the city will increase some parking rates and fines. Parking in a 90-minute zone will increase to $4 from $3.50, while illegally parking in a metered or time-limited zone will cost you $60 instead of $40. Leaving your vehicle in a commercial or no-stopping zone will be an $80 hit, up from $60.

“I’ll be opposing the budget just because I think it’s too much of a lift,” said Coun. Stephen Hammond, who along with councillors Chris Coleman (the first time he says he’s done so) and Marg Gardiner voted against its adoption, while Mayor Marianne Alto, and councillors Krista Loughton, Matt Dell, Susan Kim, Jeremy Caradonna, and Dave Thompson voted in favour.

Thompson justified the overall tax increase by saying owners of single detached homes have seen their property values increase on average by $500-600K over the last decade. “That’s what economists call ‘unearned wealth’ so I think that being asked to contribute a bit more now is entirely reasonable.”

The budget will go to a final vote in April.

⚠️ Capital Bulletin

Road closures: See which Victoria streets are closed for construction.

Check your bus route to see if it’s running today while BC Transit deals with fleet issues.

Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google.

NEWS

EV parking spaces coming to Mary Winspear Centre

Encouraged in September by the CRD, the Town of Sidney has moved a motion to greenlight work with BC Hydro on the installation of up to 16 EV parking spots at the Mary Winspear Centre. The move is being touted as bringing Sidney further in alignment with the province’s Clean BC Plan. The proposal includes both DC fast-charging stalls and Level 2 charging stalls.

BC Hydro will cover all costs associated with building, operating, and maintaining the stations and will collect user fees to offset these costs. 

While some councillors expressed their confidence that staff could effectively work with BC Hydro to meet accessibility standards concerning design and actual station and types required, others had concerns about accessibility design and lithium battery technology itself. The town requires several spaces within the parking lot to qualify as accessible.

Read more about questions that were raised about the proposed new vehicle charging stations here.

SPONSORED BY BELFRY THEATRE

B4Play with Gregor Craigie this Saturday

February 3 at 11 am.

The Belfry's live talk show, hosted by CBC Radio’s Gregor Craigie, features artists from the upcoming show, As Above, along with experts from the community. B4play provides audiences with insight into each Mainstage production.

Panelists include Christine Quintana (playwright), Meg Roe (director), and community experts Barbara Hawkins (professor at the Centre for Forest Biology at UVic), and Bernie Pauly (professor in Nursing at the University of Victoria and prominent substance use researcher).

B4Play is free to attend, live-streamed on the Belfry's Facebook page, and is available as a podcast on their website.

B4Play is ASL Interpreted.

To reserve your free tickets, please call our Box Office at 250-385-6815.

⭐️ Capital Picks

🎨 Winter Arts Fest, run by the organizers of Vancouver Mural Fest, will hit downtown during next month’s Family Day long weekend.

🤸 This is your year. Find balance, embrace mindful living, and achieve your fitness goals with Tall Tree Health’s group classes.*

🤝 Now hiring: Development Officer at Victoria Hospitals Foundation.

*Sponsored Listing

🗞️ In Other News

Artist supply centre needs last-day funding push
With one day left (closes tomorrow) in its goal to raise $14K, SUPPLY Victoria’s GoFundMe tally sits at roughly $12K. The registered society, which offers artists low-cost paint, brushes, fabric, candle- and jewelry-making, and other supplies, has moved from Fairfield into new digs near the Royal BC Museum, and hopes to open in the coming weeks. [The Martlet]

Aging fleet makes for a bunch of bus cancellations in Victoria
BC Transit says mechanical issues with several older buses have been the cause of the recent cancellations of 17 bus routes in the city. The transit authority says the cancellations accounted for 1% of scheduled service. BC Transit was unable to confirm when schedules would be back to normal. [CHEK]

Investors raised red flags about Martel long before alleged Ponzi scheme
BC financial regulators received complaints years ago about Greg Martel, including that he was running an alleged scam, with multiple complaints submitted in 2017 and 2021. The financial services authority says it investigated the complaints but did not find any wrongdoing at the time. [Vancouver Sun]
A warrant was put out for Martel’s arrest in September after he was found to be in contempt of court. Martel is accused of scamming 1,300 investors out of $300M.

ER discharges under review after Royal Jubilee complaints
Island Health says it will review practices at all hospitals after complaints about multiple vulnerable patients being dumped at the bus stop. They will review emergency discharge processes with staff and doctors. [Times Colonist]
Capital Daily reported on these discharges and issues at the Jube in 2022 and recently looked at the systemic failures that have led to them.

🗓️ Things to do

🎞️ What’s Your Story? New short films of outstanding local seniors. Also featuring Jack Knox live. Star Cinema in Sidney. Sunday. 1pm & 3pm. [Info]

🎤 Aaron Pritchett: See the Canadian country singer at the Charlie White Theatre. Tomorrow. 7pm.

🎸 U-JAM Club Night: Enjoy the music or join the jam with U-JAM’s house band at Hermann’s. Tonight. 7pm.

🏢 Make Downtown More Liveable: Share your ideas for bettering downtown with the Victoria Downtown Residents Association at the Victoria Event Centre. Tonight. 6pm.

🖤 Black History Month Launch: Learn more about Black history in BC, find out about upcoming events, and enjoy music from Locrian Tones and food by Elk and the Tide, at Kwench. Tomorrow. 6:30pm.

🎷Grant Green Tribute: David Santana will perform an homage to Green, with Ryan Oliver on sax at Hermann’s. Tomorrow. 7pm.

👀 In Case You Missed It

15 Fairy Creek land defenders sued for $10M. [Capital Daily] 

Tuesday’s Headlines: Arts Alive People’s Choice Awards; Man missing in Westshore; 99-year-old sets swimming records. [Jan. 30]

More on Vic cyclist banned from the sport. [Road.cc] [Yes, .cc]

Hot Chocolate Festival is still on. Still chocolatey. 

Warm gear & clothing drive for North Park: Tonight. 6-8pm at 1025 Mason. Thurs. 9am-noon at 932 Balmoral. [More info]

Record-breaking temp in Vic on Monday. [Victoria News] 

Fall asleep to soothing Dallas Road waves. [11:26 of zzzzs]

That’s it!

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