Thursday February 19, 2026 | LANGFORD, BC [Posted at 11:50 am]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
The proposed 2026-2030 City of Langford Financial Plan was presented by staff to council at their February 10 committee of the whole meeting.
While the draft Plan includes a 15.13% property tax increase, at the December 8, 2025 Committee of the Whole meeting, Council asked staff to bring back options to reduce the tax increase to 11%, 9%, 6%, or 3%.
At their February 9 council meeting, council heard from staff about each of the possible reduction options in detail.
A fulsome report outlining the options for Council consideration was made available Friday February 13 in preparation for the budget meeting to be held tonight, Thursday February 19.
“Any reduction to the proposed tax increase comes with trade-offs that could affect City services and future property tax increases, which is why community input is so important,” says Scott Goodmanson, Mayor of Langford.
“We want residents to weigh in on how far the reductions should go, so Council can strike the right balance for the community/” the mayor said in a news release last week.
Public input:
Residents will have several opportunities to provide input to the budget process by attending upcoming meetings (online or in-person), via email to Budget2026@Langford.ca and through an online survey.
The online Budget 2026 survey is now open and closes on March 4, 2026 (end of day).
Survey results will be summarized and presented to Committee of the Whole at the March 17, 2026, meeting.
Council remuneration:
During the February 9 meeting, staff provided an update on Council remuneration. According to City Policy, established in 2020, a third-party consultant reviewed compensation levels in comparable municipalities with similar size populations.
Council subsequently approved renumeration increases for elected officials, with implementation of the increases deferred until November 2026, following the upcoming October 2026 general municipal election.
Once implemented, annual remuneration will increase by $13,600 for the role of Councillor, and $30,000 for the role of the Mayor, bringing annual salaries to $47,817 for the role of Councillor, and $124,656 for the role of the Mayor.
Committee of the Whole discussed that fair compensation could motivate more residents to run for public office and encourage diverse voices with varying lived experiences.
“We are not giving ourselves a raise, but by doing this (increase) we can value the work of future councillors,” says City Councillor Mary Wagner. She notes that the remuneration is comparable to that of other communities.
General budget considerations:
The staff-presented baseline of a 15.13% property tax increase is a framework by which to maintain the current level of services and to address commitments already in place.
Generally speaking, the more the baseline is reduced, the fewer services are provided.
Seven budget priorities are stated by the City as:
- Sustainable Development
- Climate Change and Environmental Stewardship
- Economic Development
- Transportation
- Good Governance
- Quality of Life
- Collaborative Advocacy
Key points of discussion during Budget 2026 deliberations are the cost of policing (including an RCMP request for more officers), the cost of expanding parks and trails activity; the cost of expanding transportation (roads) and active transportation (cycling lanes, sidewalks) plans; and more.
In the past couple of years a lot of expenditure has been directed to hiring consultants and doing public engagement. This phase may now be slowing down, as most of the new work in developing policy areas has now been done, including the completion of the new OCP.
Following the budget process:
For a list of budget meeting dates, including opportunities for public input see Langford.ca/Budget.
The budget survey is online to end of day March 4, 2026 at LetsChatLangford.ca/Budget.
Watch the recording of the February 10, 2026 Committee of the Whole meeting, on the Langford.ca/Meetings page.
Tonight’s meeting:
Watch or attend the February 19 council meeting tonight, where deliberation on the budget is the only item on the agenda.
See Langford.ca/Meetings. Dial-in/Zoom Meeting ID: 891 4864 3113.
Future meetings:
Next scheduled meetings include Committee of the Whole on February and Council on March 2.
===== RELATED:
NEWS SECTIONS: LANGFORD | 2026 BUDGET SEASON