Residents of multifamily homes in Langley City will pay less property tax in 2016 while people in single family homes will pay more if a preliminary budget proposal is adopted by Langley City Council.
On Monday, a majority of council gave preliminary approval to the 2016 - 2020 financial plan that will see taxes on the average multifamily home drop by $29 or 2.37 per cent in 2016, while the average single family home will see a tax increase of $89 or 3.17 per cent.
That increase will help pay for additional staff at the new, expanded Timms Community Centre when it opens, a plan checker/building inspector position and one additional RCMP officer.
Mayor Ted Schaffer said the new officer will give the city a ratio of one police officer for every 506 residents, one of the best in B.C (A Black Press review in 2014 found the average municipality in B.C. has a ratio of one officer for every 717 residents).
The budget also includes an additional $20,000 for public safety initiatives suggested by the Crime Prevention and Homelessness task forces.
Revenue sharing with the Cascades Casino is expected to provide $6 million of the $43 million budget.
While the casino revenue isn’t directly used to reduce taxes, it pays for capital projects like the new Timms community centre that would otherwise be funded through higher taxes or borrowing.
The city is currently debt-free.
“We’re living within our means,” Schaffer said.
Without the casino funds, taxes would be 1.3 per cent higher this year and would have been 25.84 per cent higher over the years the casino has been operating.
The casino funding will cover improvements to 56 Avenue between Glover Road and the Langley Bypass to the east, road rehabilitation, signal upgrades, Penzer Park improvements, Al Anderson Pool basin repairs, design work for Douglas Crescent and Production Way, and other, smaller projects.
The city has been gradually shifting the balance of the tax burden so that businesses pay a higher proportion in order to bring Langley into line with the rest of Metro Vancouver.
After a review of public input, the budget is expected to come back to council for final approval in mid-February.