Monday March 4, 2024 | LANGFORD, BC [Updated 4:10 pm]
LETTER TO THE EDITOR by Frazer Johnson | Published in Island Social Trends
The following letter comments on how property owner tax levels have been subsidized by Langford Council across several previous administrations.
The City of Langford’s 2024 budget continues to be deliberated, including at a meeting this evening March 4, 2024 (at 7 pm). See: March 4, 2024 City of Langford Council meeting link.
“I am supportive of Langford Council’s motion to stop using its general amenity reserve fund to subsidize property taxes beginning in 2024. According to the City’s Finance department, the general amenity fund has historically been used to subsidize property taxes in Langford at an average of $750,000 per year, with a significant increase since the COVID-19 pandemic that has continued to this day.
The City of Langford has enjoyed comparatively low property taxes compared to other municipalities in the region, and credit for this is rightly owed to the previous Mayor and Councils. The City has seen remarkable growth, and has relied heavily on new development to pay for upgrades to City infrastructure and to keep taxes low (general amenity reserve funds have come from developer contributions).
Unfortunately, this reliance on development and prioritization of low taxes has also come at a cost to the City as a whole. While homeowners have received the benefit of lower property tax bills each year, neighbourhoods all over the City have a patchwork of sidewalks and have missed out on the many upgrades that millions of dollars in spending could have provided had the general amenity funds been spent on actual amenities.
Langford Council’s motion to eliminate the property tax subsidization from the general amenity fund in 2024 comes at a cost of a 3.8% property tax increase from the “base case” which called for $1.7M being drawn from the general amenity reserve. This increase represents a $79 hike to the 2024 property tax bill of a representative home in Langford. Over five years, it’s a $245 increase. Over those same five years, this move will allow $6.4M in general amenity funds to be spent on new amenities in the City. Perhaps some of those sidewalks can be more fully built out.
Tax increases aren’t popular, and this proposed move away from property tax subsidization may not win Council many new friends, but I feel this is the right strategy for the long-term health of the City’s finances and I am hopeful that the amenity funds will be put to good use for the benefit of all of the City’s residents.”
Frazer Johnson has been a Langford resident for 12 years, with 11 of those as a property owner. He has a career background in finance and accounting. He currently sits as a member of the City of Langford Community Advisory Committee.
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Langford supports nearly $100K in community grants (March 4, 2024)