Residents of the City of Castlegar can expect a tax rate increase of 7.27 per cent if the draft version of the city's 2025 budget and five year financial plan is adopted as it now stands.
Based on an average house being assessed at $520,000, the increase would cost the average property owner about $99 per year or $8.24 per month. The annual tax bill of the average property will be approximately $1,460.
Businesses can expect to pay about $330 extra for an assessment of $400,000 and an annual bill of $4,720.
The increase is needed to fund an additional $801,000 in expenses during the 2025 fiscal year. It takes $108,000 in spending to equal a one-per-cent tax rate increase.
The total capital budget for 2025 is about $15.7 million and the operating budget is about $30.6 million.
When looking at your annual property tax bill, it is important to note that the City of Castlegar collects taxes on behalf of other levels of government, so your total bill will be higher than what is listed here.
More than half of your property tax bill goes to these other agencies. The city's portion is about 43 per cent, the Regional District of Central Kootenay is about 27 per cent and provincial education taxes are also about 27 per cent. Hospital taxes make up two per cent of your bill.
If your property is your principal residence, you can apply for a home-owners grant that can reduce the total amount owed. Information can be found on the provincial government's property tax web page.
Reasons for the increase
One of the main drivers of the increase is inflation which accounts for $259,682 of the new spending and 2.36 per cent of the increase.
Staffing requirements require an additional $245,000, and a 2.22-per-cent increase.
A $187,857 infrastructure levy adds a 1.7-per-cent increase to the budget, this is due to historic infrastructure funding gaps spanning the last 70 years.
New operating expenses, including an increase to the RCMP contract and new accounts payable automation software, will cost $104,740 and add a .95-per-cent increase.
Council/community requests require $4,677 and will only bump tax bills by .04 per cent, this includes signage for the Millennium Park dog park and additional library needs.
According to city staff and Mayor Maria McFaddin, another driver of increased spending in recent years is the downloading of responsibilities from the federal and provincial governments to municipalities.
This includes implementing new Step Code, BC Building Code, short-term rental, Emergency Disaster Act and Fire Safety Act legislation, as well as requirements to perform housing needs assessments and reports on climate actions and emissions.
The budget is available online at castlegar.ca and will be presented at an open house on Feb. 11 at the Castlegar Community Forum (council chambers) from 5-7 p.m.
The first three readings of the budget bylaw are planned for Feb. 18 with final adoption scheduled for March 5.
