Vancouver mayor announces possible property tax increase of 10.7%, higher than first proposed

Property owners in Vancouver will likely see a property tax increase of 10.7 per cent this year, higher than the 9.7 per cent announced last week.

Mayor Ken Sim made the announcement Tuesday morning while explaining additional spending for various city services.

Some of the extra spending items include an additional $1.3 million for engineering services, including road maintenance and pothole repairs; $1.8 million more for snow readiness, including snow removal; and a funding boost for Vancouver Fire Rescue Services totalling $4.19 million. That additional funding would allow the fire service to add 33 new positions in 2023.

“I know increases like this are hard, frankly they suck. We completely understand that. Nobody likes property tax increases, however leadership in government sometimes means making incredibly hard choices,” Sim said. “Taxpayers expect value for their money and we all deserve to live in a city that we feel proud of.”

The increased spending announcement received support from Green Party councillors. Pete Fry said it addressed “a lot of the amendments that we were hoping to bring forward,” including the increase to VFRS. Though Fry admitted there were spending pieces that he “might prioritize differently.” While Adrienne Carr agreed that spending on city infrastructure has been lacking for the last decade.

“I’ve been on council for four terms when Vision was the dominant party, let me tell you they kept taxes low and they cut the investment in renewing our sewer system, our pipes,” Carr said.

Former city councillor and CTV political contributor George Affleck said the new mayor and council are not sticking to their promise of keeping taxes down.

“I’m not hearing much about where they actually found savings,” Affleck said. “By trying to please everyone, they are causing taxpayers a lot of grief.”

Mayor Sim tried to assure voters that “these are not normal times” and alluded to possible tax decreases moving forward.

“Property tax increases of this magnitude cannot, and will not, become the norm,” he said.

City staff last week proposed a property tax increase of 9.7 per cent. Council will discuss the proposed budget Tuesday and hear from speakers. A final vote is expected March 7.