By Link News Network
The City of Surrey is proposing to raise property taxes by 17.5 per cent in 2023. And according to Mayor Brenda Locke, “More than half of the property tax increases for 2023 is to fund the costs associated with the police transition.”
The city is proposing a 9.5 per cent property tax increase to fund what it calls the “policing shortfall” in 2023. That’s on top of a 7% per cent increase to pay for general inflationary pressures, city-wide operations, and the hiring of 25 new police officers, 20 firefighters and 10 new bylaw officers. There’s also a one per cent roads and traffic levy.
The city made the announcement while making 2023-2027 General Operating and Capital Budgets available for the public to view.
The city notes that the 2023 Draft Operating Budget has been built without a decision on policing in Surrey, and the financial model is predicated on retaining the RCMP as the police of jurisdiction. “While maintaining the RCMP will cost an estimated $235M less to operate over five years than the Surrey Police Service (SPS), there remains a shortfall of $116.6M created by the transition process. As a result, a proposed 9.5% General Property Tax increase to fund the 2023 Policing,” Mayor Locke said.
“It is now clear just how much this misguided experiment to change policing in Surrey is costing Surrey residents and businesses,” said Mayor Locke. “The money wasted by the policing transition, combined with the so-called 2.9% property tax rate for four years implemented by the previous Council, means we are now having to play catch up on core City services, such as the hiring of firefighters and bylaw officers. Surrey can ill afford to continue with the police transition and we are starting to set our finances straight with this budget.”
If the proposed increases are approved, the City’s portion of property taxes for the average assessed single family home in the City of Surrey would be $3,000, which would place Surrey in the middle for property taxes collected for the respective average assessed home in Metro Vancouver.
A public meeting of the Finance Committee will be held March 6 at 2pm to consider the 2023 Budget. The public can provide comment in person at the Finance Committee meeting or through written submissions. The deadline for written comments is noon on Friday, March 3, 2023.
Safe Surrey Coalition Councillors Doug Elford and Mandeep Nagra are criticizing the Mayor for being out of touch with the financial realities facing Surrey families and small businesses during uncertain economic times. “This tax increase is unnecessary and will financially ruin families and small businesses. Mayor Brenda Locke will put families and small businesses at the brink of bankruptcy,” Elford stated.
Nagra echoed Elford’s concerns, emphasizing that the proposed tax increase would be devastating for many Surrey families and small businesses. “The cost of living due to high inflation has already created hardship for many families and small businesses, and this tax increase will only make matters worse,” Nagra stated.
“Mayor Brenda Locke’s tax increase is an attack on small businesses and jobs in Surrey, her 17.5% tax increase for next 3 years will cause a mass exodus of businesses moving out of Surrey to neighbouring business friendly municipalities. The Mayor needs to wake up and realize that Surrey families and businesses cannot afford her “Keep The RCMP Tax” increase.”
The Draft 2023 Budgets and Five-Year Plan can be viewed https://www.surrey.ca/city-government/city-departments/finance/financial-documents.
