Council gives first three readings to updated five-year financial plan

Peter de Verteuil, Duncan’s CAO, got to deliver the good news that taxes are likely going down for many in the City of Duncan this year. (Citizen file)

Municipal taxes for the average single-family home in Duncan in 2018 could see a decrease for the first time in more than 10 years.

Taxes for the average business property in Duncan could also be less in 2018.

That’s because there are significant new property assessments in the city due to new construction this year, providing the opportunity for additional funds to be contributed towards capital expenditures without major impacts to current property owners.

Duncan’s city council gave the first three readings to its updated five-year financial plan at its meeting on Jan. 22.

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The city’s business properties did see decreases in their municipal taxes in 2016 and 2017, but the closest single-family homes have had to a decrease in their taxes in the last decade was a small 0.3 per cent increase in 2014.

Peter de Verteuil, Duncan’s CAO, said that while the city’s draft plan results in decreased taxes for some property types in 2018, it is not decreasing the total taxes collected.

“After adjusting for new construction, which adds 1.35 per cent in new taxes collected, existing properties will be contributing an additional 3.48 per cent in taxes collected,” he said.

“However, how this 3.48 per cent is distributed differs depending on the class of property and how that property increased or decreased in relation to the average.”

De Verteuil said the final tax rates for the city for 2018 won’t be determined until the revised assessments from BC Assessment are received this spring, after all the appeals are completed and the numbers are updated.

Even though many property owners saw an increase in their property assessments this year, de Verteuil said the city is projecting a decrease of approximately $11 from municipal taxes for an average single-family dwelling in 2018, and a decrease of about $42 for the average business property.

However, the average residential strata unit in the city is projected to see an increase of approximately $51 in the municipal portion of their taxes.

De Verteuil said that’s because the assessments of strata properties in Duncan increased by so much in relation to single family homes in 2018, they will likely end up with an increase in taxes instead of a reduction.



robert.barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.com

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