On March 4, 2024 Council adopted the 2024 Financial Plan bylaw.
At various public Council and Committee of the Whole meetings over the past few months, Council has reviewed and analyzed the individual department budgets for the City.
The Financial Plan is balanced with a total tax increase of 10.55%, of which 1.22% will be paid by new construction, which leaves a tax increase of 9.33% for existing properties. After reviewing the fluctuations in 2024 assessed property values, Council considered the distribution of tax collected between commercial and residential and settled on a tax rate multiple that achieves an even increase between the two classes. This results in the average home seeing an increase of 7.54% and the average business seeing an increase of 7.54% on their 2024 municipal taxes.
What are City Council's spending priorities for 2024?
Council prioritizes projects and services and decides what needs to be accomplished in the year, balanced against what those services cost the taxpayer each year. In 2024 the focus is paying for policing costs, forging ahead with necessary capital infrastructure projects, and increasing safety in the City.
November 3, 2023 Committee of the Whole Meeting Agenda
November 17, 2023 Committee of the Whole Meeting Agenda
Sources of Revenue
Other Revenue Own Sources includes:
- Business and dog licenses,
- Building and related permits,
- Real estate rentals,
- Parking permits, and
- Land use alteration fees.
Services Provided
These services are provided by the City of Duncan:
- Water,
- Sewer,
- Garbage, recycling, organics, glass & yard waste collection,
- Road maintenance and repair, snow removal,
- Sidewalks, curbs, gutters,
- Storm water drainage,
- Street lighting,
- Parks & Recreation,
- Fire protection and inspections,
- Police Protection,
- Bylaw Enforcement, and
- Building & Development Permits and inspections.
Services Not Provided
- Education,
- Healthcare,
- Highways,
- Ferry Service,
- Library, and
- Public Transit.
Your Property Tax Bill
Your property tax bill includes municipal taxes and policing levies. In addition, the City of Duncan collects taxes on behalf of these other governments and agencies:
- School Tax (Province of BC),
- Cowichan Valley Regional District,
- Cowichan Hospital District,
- BC Assessment Authority, and
- Municipal Finance Authority.
For some business property owners, the City collects levies on behalf of the Downtown Duncan Business Improvement Area (DDBIA).
Most property tax bills will also have the sewer charges added on for the year.
Tax Increase
What is the proposed tax increase for 2024?
City Council started out considering an increase in taxes collected for operating expenses of 4.42% and an increase in taxes collected for policing costs of 7.87% for a total increase of 12.29%.
There are two major components which made up this increase:
| 2023 Amount | 2024 Amount | $ Increase |
| Property Tax | $4,122,388 | $4,375,548 | $253,160 |
| Policing Levies | $1,611,313 | $2,062,875 | $451,562 |
| Total | $5,733,701 | $6,438,423 | $704,722 |
| Reserve Funds Used | ($240,000) | ($125,000) |
|
As of January 26, 2024 Committee of the Whole budget meeting, council committed to using an additional $100,000 from the policing reserve fund to smooth the effects of the tax increase and defer to a future year. This now means that the increase in taxes collected would be 4.42% for operating and 6.13% for policing for a total increase of 10.55%. Of this increase, 1.22% will be coming from new construction, leaving 9.33% tax increase to be paid by existing taxpayers.
Property Tax:
Inflation requires an increase in taxes, just to keep paying for general maintenance budgets. During the last year we have seen higher than average cost increases on things such as fuel & repairs for our equipment, and materials used for things such as street and traffic maintenance.
A significant amount of asset management planning goes into the maintenance of City infrastructure. If taxes are not increased each year to account for inflation, the result would have the be a reduction in maintenance budgets or a deferral of major capital works. This could result in the failure of an asset (equipment or municipal building) which then would require higher future taxes to pay for emergency repairs or replacement. Eventually the deferred major capital works must also be done, which would again result in higher future taxes to do the works that should have been done.
Policing Costs:
For 2024, the Province of BC has increased the number of officers the City is responsible for paying for. In 2023 the City was responsible for paying for 9 officers, and in 2024 the City is responsible for paying for 10 officers. This number will increase again in 2025 to 11 officers and finally in 2026 12 officers. The City has also had to transition from paying the province for support staff, to paying North Cowichan for support staff, which comes at an increased cost. In addition to RCMP members and support staff, the City also has to cost share in IT support, network costs, guards for keeping prisoners, and a crime analyst. The building costs (including debt payments) for the police detachment building will be shared between North Cowichan and Duncan.
In order to smooth out the transition costs, Council has decided to use $225,000 from police reserve accounts. This does not eliminate the tax increase, but rather pushes it forward to the next year.
Expenses by Function
Major Highlights
What are the major changes in the 2024 budget compared to 2023? The 10.55% increase is comprised of the following changes:
| Revenues |
|
| Reduction in Provincial revenue sharing small community grant | ($11,000) |
| Increase to works & services fees | $20,000 |
| Increase in EV charging station revenues | $12,000 |
| Increase to building permit revenues | $20,000 |
| Increase to interest revenues | $52,160 |
| Increase to tax penalties | $5,000 |
| Expenses: |
|
| Increase to Police costs | $336,562 |
| Police Bridging Capital used for smoothing in 2023 - must now be made up. Even though police costs have only increased by $336,479, the amount we collected must increase by $576,479 because we collected less than we needed last year by $240,000. | $240,000 |
| Increase to Council indemnities - based on 4% estimated CPI as per bylaw | $12,000 |
| Increase to inside and outside staff wages | $69,400 |
| Increase to staff conferences & travel | $4,500 |
| Increase to liability insurance premiums | $4,000 |
| Increase to computer service costs | $10,000 |
| Increase to the fire department operating budget (wages, training, janitorial, software) | $122,677 |
| Increase to the bylaw enforcement and patroller operating budget (bike repairs, safety gear, vehicle costs) | $8,250 |
| Increase to patroller staff wages (approved in 2023) | $15,000 |
Increase to the public works department operating budget:- Uniforms/Clothing,
- Training & Courses,
- Workshop & yards,
- Dike maintenance,
- Pedestrian lights repairs & maintenance,
- EV charging station repairs & maintenance,
- Increase to parks department budget - move to full time worker,
- Increase to municipal fleet contribution to reserve.
|
$2,000
$7,700
$1,300
$4,000
$11,500
$4,900
$53,300
$10,000 |
| Increase to engineering department budget | $5,000 |
| Increase to Library requisition (out of our control) | $52,000 |
| Addition of Station Street washroom budget (half year) | $11,720 |
| Increase to DDBIA façade improvement budget (last year was increased from $5,000 to $10,000 but was funded from covid reserve, this year funded from taxes) | $5,000 |
| Reduction in sportsplex annual contribution | ($5,000) |
| Reduction in aquatic center contribution | ($112,000) |
| Increase in interest paid on prepaid tax accounts | $7,500 |
| 3% increase to annual contribution to capital | $20,500 |
| Misc. cost increases and decreases across all departments | $25,873 |
| Total net increases to tax revenues required | $829,722 |
| Less withdrawal from Policing Reserves for tax smoothing | ($225,000) |
| TOTAL | $604,722 |
Tax Rates
Now that the amount of tax to be collected is set, we need to decide how the tax will be distributed among the different classes.
On January 1, 2024, BC Assessment issued the Completed Roll, which lists the assessed values of all properties in the City. The Completed Roll indicates that the average home has decreased by 5.51% and the average business as increased by 0.77% from 2023 values. On April 1st, BCAA will issue the Revised Roll, which will provide the final 2024 assessed values including the results of changes from assessment appeals.
As part of setting the tax rates, the City has the ability to smooth out fluctuations in assessments so that one class of taxpayers is not experiencing much larger increases than another class. This process results in a commercial-to-residential property tax ratio, which we call a multiple.
The 2024 Tax Rate Bylaw will be considered at the April 15th Council meeting.
For further information about property taxes, please contact Bernice Crossman at City Hall in-person at 200 Craig Street, by phone (250-746-6126), or by email (bernice@duncan.ca).
On March 4, 2024 Council adopted the 2024 Financial Plan bylaw.
At various public Council and Committee of the Whole meetings over the past few months, Council has reviewed and analyzed the individual department budgets for the City.
The Financial Plan is balanced with a total tax increase of 10.55%, of which 1.22% will be paid by new construction, which leaves a tax increase of 9.33% for existing properties. After reviewing the fluctuations in 2024 assessed property values, Council considered the distribution of tax collected between commercial and residential and settled on a tax rate multiple that achieves an even increase between the two classes. This results in the average home seeing an increase of 7.54% and the average business seeing an increase of 7.54% on their 2024 municipal taxes.
What are City Council's spending priorities for 2024?
Council prioritizes projects and services and decides what needs to be accomplished in the year, balanced against what those services cost the taxpayer each year. In 2024 the focus is paying for policing costs, forging ahead with necessary capital infrastructure projects, and increasing safety in the City.
November 3, 2023 Committee of the Whole Meeting Agenda
November 17, 2023 Committee of the Whole Meeting Agenda
Sources of Revenue
Other Revenue Own Sources includes:
- Business and dog licenses,
- Building and related permits,
- Real estate rentals,
- Parking permits, and
- Land use alteration fees.
Services Provided
These services are provided by the City of Duncan:
- Water,
- Sewer,
- Garbage, recycling, organics, glass & yard waste collection,
- Road maintenance and repair, snow removal,
- Sidewalks, curbs, gutters,
- Storm water drainage,
- Street lighting,
- Parks & Recreation,
- Fire protection and inspections,
- Police Protection,
- Bylaw Enforcement, and
- Building & Development Permits and inspections.
Services Not Provided
- Education,
- Healthcare,
- Highways,
- Ferry Service,
- Library, and
- Public Transit.
Your Property Tax Bill
Your property tax bill includes municipal taxes and policing levies. In addition, the City of Duncan collects taxes on behalf of these other governments and agencies:
- School Tax (Province of BC),
- Cowichan Valley Regional District,
- Cowichan Hospital District,
- BC Assessment Authority, and
- Municipal Finance Authority.
For some business property owners, the City collects levies on behalf of the Downtown Duncan Business Improvement Area (DDBIA).
Most property tax bills will also have the sewer charges added on for the year.
Tax Increase
What is the proposed tax increase for 2024?
City Council started out considering an increase in taxes collected for operating expenses of 4.42% and an increase in taxes collected for policing costs of 7.87% for a total increase of 12.29%.
There are two major components which made up this increase:
| 2023 Amount | 2024 Amount | $ Increase |
| Property Tax | $4,122,388 | $4,375,548 | $253,160 |
| Policing Levies | $1,611,313 | $2,062,875 | $451,562 |
| Total | $5,733,701 | $6,438,423 | $704,722 |
| Reserve Funds Used | ($240,000) | ($125,000) |
|
As of January 26, 2024 Committee of the Whole budget meeting, council committed to using an additional $100,000 from the policing reserve fund to smooth the effects of the tax increase and defer to a future year. This now means that the increase in taxes collected would be 4.42% for operating and 6.13% for policing for a total increase of 10.55%. Of this increase, 1.22% will be coming from new construction, leaving 9.33% tax increase to be paid by existing taxpayers.
Property Tax:
Inflation requires an increase in taxes, just to keep paying for general maintenance budgets. During the last year we have seen higher than average cost increases on things such as fuel & repairs for our equipment, and materials used for things such as street and traffic maintenance.
A significant amount of asset management planning goes into the maintenance of City infrastructure. If taxes are not increased each year to account for inflation, the result would have the be a reduction in maintenance budgets or a deferral of major capital works. This could result in the failure of an asset (equipment or municipal building) which then would require higher future taxes to pay for emergency repairs or replacement. Eventually the deferred major capital works must also be done, which would again result in higher future taxes to do the works that should have been done.
Policing Costs:
For 2024, the Province of BC has increased the number of officers the City is responsible for paying for. In 2023 the City was responsible for paying for 9 officers, and in 2024 the City is responsible for paying for 10 officers. This number will increase again in 2025 to 11 officers and finally in 2026 12 officers. The City has also had to transition from paying the province for support staff, to paying North Cowichan for support staff, which comes at an increased cost. In addition to RCMP members and support staff, the City also has to cost share in IT support, network costs, guards for keeping prisoners, and a crime analyst. The building costs (including debt payments) for the police detachment building will be shared between North Cowichan and Duncan.
In order to smooth out the transition costs, Council has decided to use $225,000 from police reserve accounts. This does not eliminate the tax increase, but rather pushes it forward to the next year.
Expenses by Function
Major Highlights
What are the major changes in the 2024 budget compared to 2023? The 10.55% increase is comprised of the following changes:
| Revenues |
|
| Reduction in Provincial revenue sharing small community grant | ($11,000) |
| Increase to works & services fees | $20,000 |
| Increase in EV charging station revenues | $12,000 |
| Increase to building permit revenues | $20,000 |
| Increase to interest revenues | $52,160 |
| Increase to tax penalties | $5,000 |
| Expenses: |
|
| Increase to Police costs | $336,562 |
| Police Bridging Capital used for smoothing in 2023 - must now be made up. Even though police costs have only increased by $336,479, the amount we collected must increase by $576,479 because we collected less than we needed last year by $240,000. | $240,000 |
| Increase to Council indemnities - based on 4% estimated CPI as per bylaw | $12,000 |
| Increase to inside and outside staff wages | $69,400 |
| Increase to staff conferences & travel | $4,500 |
| Increase to liability insurance premiums | $4,000 |
| Increase to computer service costs | $10,000 |
| Increase to the fire department operating budget (wages, training, janitorial, software) | $122,677 |
| Increase to the bylaw enforcement and patroller operating budget (bike repairs, safety gear, vehicle costs) | $8,250 |
| Increase to patroller staff wages (approved in 2023) | $15,000 |
Increase to the public works department operating budget:- Uniforms/Clothing,
- Training & Courses,
- Workshop & yards,
- Dike maintenance,
- Pedestrian lights repairs & maintenance,
- EV charging station repairs & maintenance,
- Increase to parks department budget - move to full time worker,
- Increase to municipal fleet contribution to reserve.
|
$2,000
$7,700
$1,300
$4,000
$11,500
$4,900
$53,300
$10,000 |
| Increase to engineering department budget | $5,000 |
| Increase to Library requisition (out of our control) | $52,000 |
| Addition of Station Street washroom budget (half year) | $11,720 |
| Increase to DDBIA façade improvement budget (last year was increased from $5,000 to $10,000 but was funded from covid reserve, this year funded from taxes) | $5,000 |
| Reduction in sportsplex annual contribution | ($5,000) |
| Reduction in aquatic center contribution | ($112,000) |
| Increase in interest paid on prepaid tax accounts | $7,500 |
| 3% increase to annual contribution to capital | $20,500 |
| Misc. cost increases and decreases across all departments | $25,873 |
| Total net increases to tax revenues required | $829,722 |
| Less withdrawal from Policing Reserves for tax smoothing | ($225,000) |
| TOTAL | $604,722 |
Tax Rates
Now that the amount of tax to be collected is set, we need to decide how the tax will be distributed among the different classes.
On January 1, 2024, BC Assessment issued the Completed Roll, which lists the assessed values of all properties in the City. The Completed Roll indicates that the average home has decreased by 5.51% and the average business as increased by 0.77% from 2023 values. On April 1st, BCAA will issue the Revised Roll, which will provide the final 2024 assessed values including the results of changes from assessment appeals.
As part of setting the tax rates, the City has the ability to smooth out fluctuations in assessments so that one class of taxpayers is not experiencing much larger increases than another class. This process results in a commercial-to-residential property tax ratio, which we call a multiple.
The 2024 Tax Rate Bylaw will be considered at the April 15th Council meeting.
For further information about property taxes, please contact Bernice Crossman at City Hall in-person at 200 Craig Street, by phone (250-746-6126), or by email (bernice@duncan.ca).
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