Saanich council is adding to the cost of inflation instead of combating it – 7.19% is a huge tax increase in one year on top of all the previous increases.
To claim they have reduced the budget by 1.2% is misleading. If higher tax revenue is required because of urban expansion, they should increase the development costs for the developers. It’s their developments that require the additional services such as police, fire, garbage, roads, sewers, etc.
The increased property taxes are borne by the limited pensions of existing homeowners. Saanich doesn’t want to charge rich developers the actual costs because they will go elsewhere. Maybe that is the solution.
Paul Cosgrove
Saanich
