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Gibsons council set to approve budget

Property Taxes

Gibsons council adopted the 2017 budget at a special meeting May 4, after the five-year financial plan got unanimous approval during the first three readings at the regular council meeting May 2.

It includes an overall tax increase of three per cent, which translates to a 4.73 per cent increase for residential properties and a 1.06 per cent increase on commercial properties.

Council voted last month to raise the so-called “business tax multiplier” from 2.7958 to 3.0355 to try to balance the impact of a 29.9 per cent spike in residential assessments.

Coun. Stafford Lumley, himself a small business owner, opposed shifting more of the tax burden onto businesses, even though the net result is still a 0.23 per cent reduction. “I think we’re punishing small businesses, which is what the Town is made up of, for the benefit of people who have larger properties who get to have the benefits of a huge real estate boom in Gibsons.”

Coun. Charlene SanJenko said she’s proud of the efforts the Town has made in past years to reduce the ratio. “For this year I would be willing to have it sneak back up a little bit, but I’ve made it quite clear that was based on the assessments and not necessarily where I wanted to see the trend go.”

“This year is an aberration,” Mayor Wayne Rowe said. “Because of the very substantial increase in the residential assessments, I think that we’ll find that evening out.”

According to staff, the Town portion of the taxes for an average residential property will go up about $40, and around $136 when all other taxes and fees are included.