Langley Township mulls 3.99 per cent tax increase

Langley Township council is going to the public with a potential 3.99 per cent property tax increase in 2021.

After a debate Monday that included several possible amendments, the council voted on the budget, which includes four new RCMP officers.

It also alters the paving budget, said Mayor Jack Froese.

For the past several years the Township has been putting $500,000 per year into increasing the funding for routine paving, to catch up with the costs of patching and repaving the Township’s extensive and ever-growing road network.

This year, that increase was to be about $250,000, but another minor change will boost that to the neighbourhood of around $350,000, Froese said.

Last year, the Township had also approved a property tax increase of four per cent, but at the last minute the council slashed it in half to ease the burden on local taxpayers as the COVID-19 pandemic was ramping up and the scope of the potential lockdowns was becoming clear.

“When you defer, it comes back to you,” noted Froese.

The Township has seen dramatically lower revenue from its rec centres, pools, and ice rinks this year, while the costs of upkeep for those facilities has remained the same, or in some cases increased due to extra cleaning.

READ MORE: Proposed tax hikes one step closer after Langley City vote

Many part time staff in recreation were laid off for much of 2020.

A sizable grant, distributed by the province from federal funds, has helped offset most of the lost revenues from the rec centres, Froese noted.

Public info sessions allowing comment on the budget are expected to be announced shortly.