The City of Port Alberni is proposing a 15 percent residential tax increase in the first look at the budget for 2025.
City CAO Mike Fox and director of finance Andrew McGifford presented the Five Year Financial Plan for 2025-2029 during a committee of the whole meeting on Monday, Oct. 21. The plan proposes a 15.12 percent tax increase. For the average residential home, this will be a monthly increase of around $32.
Fox explained that the city is starting the budget process earlier this year in order to give council “ample time” to review and give feedback on the plan. The budget doesn’t have to be adopted until May 15, 2025. More information will be coming in the next few months, said Fox, including an itemized budget list organized by city department.
A large portion of the proposed increase (8.47 percent) is due to capital expenditures related to asset management and infrastructure improvements. McGifford explained that the city has a "longstanding" infrastructure deficit.
"A lot of our assets are aged," he said. "Many of our facilities are upwards of 60 years old and we do need to invest in them in order to keep them moving forward as assets that we use."
The 15 percent figure is expected to change before the budget is adopted next year. The 2024 budget originally proposed a 17 percent tax increase, but council brought this down to a 9.29 percent tax increase over a series of meetings and public input sessions.
Councillor Cindy Solda’s message to the public on Oct. 21 was a simple one:
“Don’t panic,” she said. “We are going to chip at it.”
However, Mayor Sharie Minions said the city is in a challenging position with its infrastructure deficit and putting off repairs doesn’t solve any problems.
"We are in a position as a municipality where we have an infrastructure deficit because what we have done — for decades — is put off projects and cut budgets," she said. "At some point, we have to do that work. The reality is, we have to balance making sure we have infrastructure that continues to function and at the same time making sure our taxes are not so expensive that people can’t afford to live here.”
Council discussed the possibility of offsetting some costs by charging fees for the use of its recreation facilities. However, a number of local users did not appreciate the idea.
"All we see are rising fees, more permits, red tape and complications," said Paul Robertson, executive director of the Funtastic Sports Society, which organizes a three-day annual slopitch tournament. "We're all volunteers. All we want to do is hold a ball tournament. Once these fees are implemented, they will never do anything but go up."
But council says the city has reached a breaking point.
“We just heard from a portion of the community tonight that people don’t want to see kids paying for fields,” said Coun. Dustin Dame. “If it’s not going to be paid for by fees and charges, then taxation really is our only option. That burden’s got to go somewhere.”