Editor:
According to the latest annual report from the Town of Gibsons, the ratepayers are currently servicing a total debt of around $9M which accounts for 4 per cent of the annual budget.
Under the heading of debt on the sewer system it shows currently $2.3M owing – with a successful AAP this would increase to around $3,125,000.
Under the heading of “water system” it shows currently $3.8M owing. With a successful AAP this would increase to $6,535,000.
The total debt that would end up being serviced would now be $12,560,000.
The TOG expenditures shown for the year total $12.2M of which water is shown to be 13% and waste system 13% for a total of 26%.
Additional taxes from SCRD AAP for a new fire engine will be spread amongst Area E ,F and TOG and will be levied at $3.35 per $100,000 of the assessed value of the property.
TOG taxes increased this year by 8% and SCRD by around 24%.
There is no reason to expect that these tax increases will not continue on an annual basis from both levels of local government.
After the next census in 2026, Gibsons will exceed 5,000 residents and will need to tax the residents an additional $2M a year to meet the required RCMP policing obligation.
75% of residents in Gibsons own their homes with 25% renting – those homeowners that are older than 55 can defer their taxes and current information shown indicates around 400 households do so.
The 25% privately owned rentals cannot receive a homeowners grant/defer taxes and are limited to only being able to try to recover a small percentage of the extra costs involved in owning and renting their properties.
The dictionary defines affordable as something priced at a level that everyone can afford. It would seem that the local governments consider these figures to be affordable and within the means of all home owners in Gibsons and those that must absorb these extra costs on the rentals they provide.
Des Delaney, Gibsons
