A group of Township and City taxpayers has joined forces to tell the governments of the Langleys they’re fed up with annual hikes in municipal taxes.
The Association Against Higher Property Taxes formed last year, in an effort to “try and get some control over . . . excessive property tax increases.”
Kevin Granger-Brown, who lives in the Township, but owns commercial property in the City, is heading up the campaign, which aims to see tax increases held at zero, or at most, the equivalent of a cost-of-living increase.
Municipalities are putting the cart before the horse when it comes to setting tax rates, the association contends.
“Municipal budgets should be based on what taxpayers can afford,” said Granger-Brown, in a statement issued by the group.
Budgets should be set according to what the municipality will get by taxing residents and businesses at a manageable rate, it suggests, rather than first set the budget and then raise taxes to meet it.
“The current way of budgeting, where they decide how much to spend first, does not force the elected officials to be frugal,” wrote Granger-Brown.
The release also offered budget comparisons between the 2004 and 2010 tax years in the City of Langley.
According to the association’s numbers, over that period, police and fire service costs climbed by 70 per cent and 45 per cent, respectively, while the cost of general services rose by 83 per cent.
At the same time, commercial/industrial taxes have increased “out of all proportion,” Granger-Brown’s statement reads.
It’s an increase that businesses will simply pass along to their customers through higher prices, he notes.
However the City insists its ratio of charging commercial businesses $2.40 and light industry $2.50 for every $1 paid by residential property owners remains below the regional average of 1:3. Last year, the ratio was 1:2.20 for both commercial and industrial.
“At the budget meeting on Feb. 9, attended by very few people, it was the same story about how the City wanted more, and yet again, another increase was needed to fund their needs,” Granger-Brown wrote.
“At no time did I hear any deep concern about the ability of the taxpayer to pay these increased taxes and I certainly saw no real efforts to reduce costs.”
“To suggest we don’t care is totally incorrect,” said Mayor Peter Fassbender.
“I wouldn’t have been there (at the budget open house) if I didn’t care,” he said, adding he was happy with the turnout of about 20 people at Langley Community Music School, which was significantly higher than in past years.
Council spent hours going over the budget, line by line, Fassbender said, reducing what initially would have been a nine per cent tax increase, to an average of just under three per cent.
“I always have concerns (about people’s ability to afford their taxes). If you look at it, the lowest increase is in multi-family (dwellings).”
However, expecting a tax cut or a zero increase is simply unreasonable, he added.
“To have cuts or zero, you have to take away services the community needs,” Fassbender said.
“When we got down to it, making deeper cuts would have meant laying off staff, and we’re not over-staffed.”
He also defended the use of casino projects on one-time only expenditures — specifically infrastructure costs — as opposed to using them to reduce the City’s tax rate.
By using casino proceeds to replace and upgrade aging infrastructure, rather than borrow the money, the City is not mortgaging its future, Fassbender said.
In its release, the Association Against Higher Property Taxes also called for a referendum to be held on any large project proposed by a municipality, and suggests the issue of amalgamating the two Langleys be revisited.
Anyone who is interested in knowing more about the association is invited to contact Granger-Brown at kevin.gbrown@gmail.com.
The public will also have a chance to speak to council about the budget during a committee of the whole at Monday’s meeting. It begins at 7 p.m. in the council chambers in City Hall, 20399 Douglas Cres.
“It’s time to stand up and demand our politicians do a better job with our money,” wrote Granger-Brown.
“At the end of the day, there is only one taxpayer, and we are it. So it only makes sense to be more concerned with this spiraling spending spree.”
