This story has been amended to correct an error.
Municipal taxes rates in the City of North Vancouver are expected to climb 5.24 per cent in 2023, based on the draft budget coming before council.
The city’s finance department released the 2023 financial plan on Friday and will be taking public comments on it until noon on Feb. 9.
For the owner of a home assessed at the $1.43 million average, staff estimate this year’s tax bill will come in $120 higher than last year’s, not including Metro Vancouver, school tax, TransLink and other charges that appear on the same bill.
Of that 5.4 per cent increase, three per cent is for inflation in the operating budget. Another one per cent will be dedicated to capital infrastructure, and the remaining 1.24 per cent for new items and staff. Among those listed in the 6.5 new full-time equivalent staff: Another firefighter, and new recruits in the human resources and real estate departments.
“Only the highest priorities are being brought forward to council to manage tax rate impacts on property owners,” the city staff report comments on new initiatives.
Council is expected to have their first public discussion of the proposed budget at the Feb. 13 meeting.
Anyone wanting to review and comment on items in the budget can do so via letstalk.cnv.org/budget2023.
All three North Shore councils have begun their budget talks for the year. The District of West Vancouver budget proposal calls for 6.07 per cent increase in local taxes. The draft plan before District of North Vancouver council calls for 4.5 per cent increase, although the current debate is whether that should be higher to pay for more capital projects including artificial turf fields and bike lanes.
None of the budget bylaws have been introduced for the councils to vote on, and the tax rates and spending in them are subject to change following public consultations and debates by council.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated one new full-time equivalent position would be in the bylaw department.
