Benjamin Franklin, the illustrious American polymath and a founding father of the Republic, once wrote that “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” And in this cash-strapped town it appears the powers-that-be will continue to reach deeper into our pockets to extract more and more of the latter.
According to the District of Squamish Financial Services department, from 2013 to 2017 the revenue required from property taxes increased by 21.4 per cent. This year’s overall property tax hit for the average single family residence increased by 9.6 per cent. The district’s communication officer, Christina Moore, says the municipal tax portion on each individual property is calculated differently, depending on the property assessment change.
“So the only way for us to illustrate how the budget would impact property taxes was to take an average house assessment increase, which was a property assessment increase of 37.5 per cent. Any property that was assessed more than 37.5 per cent would see a greater increase,” she notes.
As a result, some homeowners are on the hook for hefty tax hikes, while others, depending on their appraisal numbers, have taken a less onerous hit.
In one example, the assessed value of each half of a 25-year-old duplex in Brackendale increased by more than 50 per cent and the municipal portion of the property tax for each side rose by 17 per cent.
Of course, the Home Owner Grant program helped ease the burden but, in this case, the overall property tax, with the grant in place, rose by 30.5 per cent over last year’s grant application. Meanwhile, the owner of a detached home just up the road, with a lower valuation shift, saw his tax tab rise by a comparatively meagre five per cent.
DOS officials offer an inventory of compelling arguments to justify the existing taxation regimen.
In a sprawling, rapidly developing municipality, there appears to be an ever expanding need for structural remediation.
District of Squamish Capital Plan drivers since 2013 have included road and bridge rehabilitation, the arena slab replacement, landfill environmental improvements and expansion, waste water treatment plant and sewer system upgrades, fleet and equipment replacements, and transportation network expansion.
Beyond those initiatives, other significant projects have been undertaken, including the Liquid Waste Management Plan, the Flood Hazard Management Plan, the Downtown Truck Route Study and the Safe Routes to School Program. That paroxysm of municipal intervention has required increased staffing.
In 2013, the Full Time Equivalent employee count at the DOS was 175.08. Three years later the staffing number rose to 193.93. All in all, this year’s property tax bill has left some residents shaking their heads wondering how and why they got pushed under the fiscal bus.
Others have heaved a sigh of relief after escaping the annual reckoning relatively unscathed.
