The tax hike, double the current inflation rate, was trimmed imperceptibly, from 4.36 per cent to 4.34 per cent. This means the owner of a typical sa国际传媒 home will see their municipal taxes rise $108 next year, to about $2,600.聽
The budget vote was 7 to 2 in favour, with only councillors Ron Cannan and Gord Lovegrove opposed.聽
One of the few budget items that triggered lengthy debate among councillors was a $50,000 proposal to create a city-managed webpage that would promote community events. It was dropped from the budget with councillors noting most media organizations have similar listings.聽
鈥淭heresa国际传媒 so many different sources of information to go to,鈥 said Coun. Rick Webber.聽
鈥淚 question if itsa国际传媒 part of our core business that we should be responsible for,鈥 agreed Coun. Loyal Wooldridge. 鈥淣ow we鈥檙e scope-creeping into being the convenor of events for the full city and it doesn鈥檛 sit right with me.鈥
Supporters of the proposal said it could particularly help small non-profits who may struggle to get attention to their event. But the scheme was dropped from the budget in a 5-4 vote.聽
Mayor Tom Dyas, who had supported the initiative, seemed to marvel at the debate the proposal created, measured against the citysa国际传媒 overall budget that is approaching $900 million.聽
鈥$850 million and a $50,000 item goes down,鈥 Dyas said, laughing for several seconds.聽
But so it often is at budget deliberations, where small items can trigger the lengthiest discussions, while multi-million-dollar undertakings pass with no comment.聽
Highlights for the 2025 budget include the hiring of seven more RCMP members, bringing the detachmentsa国际传媒 notional strength to 251 officers (see related story); four more firefighters; the hiring of 40 more full-time employees in other city departments, bringing the municipal workforce to 1,196, and the beginning of a total quarter-billion expense for new recreation facilities.聽
In the past decade, the citysa国际传媒 workforce has expanded by almost 50 per cent. Over the same period, the citysa国际传媒 population has risen about 27 per cent.聽
But councillors who supported the 2025 budget and its provision for a 4.34 per cent tax hike hailed it as a reasonable and prudent way to deliver the extra programs, services, and city facilities they said residents support.
鈥淭his is a peoplesa国际传媒 budget,鈥 said Coun. Mohini Singh. 鈥淭heresa国际传媒 something in this for everybody, something that will improve their lives.鈥
鈥淚 think we鈥檙e doing everything most residents want us to do,鈥 said Coun. Webber, mentioning improvements to roads, parks, and recreation facilities. 鈥淎nd we鈥檙e doing it with one of the smallest tax increases in the province (see related story).鈥
Coun. Luke Stack said: 鈥淚鈥檓 really proud of the staff and for the city, together with all of us, coming up with a number that I think is very supportable in the general public.鈥
In opposing the budget, Cannan noted the tax increase is double the inflation rate. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 raise property taxes that are double the cost of living,鈥 he said.聽
鈥淔or a lot of people, the reality is this has been a tough year, challenging for individuals and families and many businesses, particularly in the tourism sector,鈥 Cannan said.聽
He said the number of seniors staying at the Gospel Mission has been rising, while households with two working parents are the fastest-rising user group at the food bank. Meanwhile, he said, the city has been adding new employees at a rate that exceeds sa国际传媒sa国际传媒 population growth.聽
鈥淭he citizens that I鈥檝e heard from and spoken with, they鈥檙e saying that their salaries and pensions are not keeping up with the increased cost of living, and they鈥檇 like to see city council operate more efficiently, which we can and must do, to live within our means,鈥 Cannan said.聽
Since the current council adopted its first budget after the 2022 civic election, the inflation rate has been 8.3 per cent but city taxes have gone up 12.6 per cent, Cannan said.聽
Coun. Loyal Wooldridge said he agreed with聽Cannan that life is hard for some people, which is why he said he supported the 4.34 per cent tax hike.聽
鈥淲hat I know is that, in those times, itsa国际传媒 public services that people lean into most, itsa国际传媒 what they need most,鈥 Wooldridge said. 鈥淧eople get excited about increasing services.鈥
Coun. Gord Lovegrove voted against the budget, in part, because he said the city wasn鈥檛 spending enough to promote the planting of more trees, or the ridership of public transit.聽
Before Dyas became mayor in 2022, he was critical of municipal tax hikes that had been in the four per cent range, suggesting the increases should more closely match inflation, which was then also at about two per cent.聽
But on Thursday, Dyas suggested that goal was unrealistic because many of the things the city needs to buy do not correspond to the consumer inflation rate. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not buying milk and eggs. We鈥檙e buying concrete, steel, and machinery,鈥 Dyas said.聽
The 2025 budget delivers on council priorities to invest in policing, transportation, and infrastructure, Dyas said, while keeping sa国际传媒 as one of the provincesa国际传媒 lowest taxing municipalities.聽
鈥淭his is a positive, very positive budget moving forward,鈥 Dyas said.聽
