Langley City will unveil its spending plans for the next year at the annual budget open house 3:30-7 p.m. on Feb. 4 at the Douglas Recreation Centre. The event will also show new design concept for Buckley Park and Penzer Park, and the suggested tax increase of 2.95 per cent.
The plan must resolve the $670,000 shortfall between revenues and expected spending.
“In order to be effective, municipal governments require involvement from the community,†said Darrin Leite, director of corporate services at the City of Langley. “Feedback from our community members strengthens the quality of policy making, programs and service delivery, so we encourage everyone to come out and share their thoughts and ideas on these two important subjects.â€
Condo owners may see a bit of a break on taxes due to changing assessments.
Including utility rate increases, the impact on an average multi-family home (assessed at $200,728) would be a decrease of 2.90 per cent or ($37) and an average single family home (assessed at $486,931) would see an increase of 2.30 per cent or $63.
As for the park plans, the public was invited to an input session last November. There was also an online survey.
The Feb. 4 open house will show the design concepts based on that feedback.
Any changes must be approved by council.
“We had great public input in the fall, with more than 130 residents providing feedback on their priorities for this underutilized park space,†said Rick Bomhof, City of Langley director of engineering, parks & environment. “We hope to continue with that momentum in taking the design comments back to the public and user groups for fine tuning.â€