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7.3% Nanaimo property tax hike next year in draft plan, much of it to pay for expanded fire rescue service

Nanaimo’s fire rescue service has been dealing with an enormous increase in number of calls for help
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Nanaimo City Hall. DARREN STONE, TIMES COLONIST

Nanaimo property owners are looking at a 7.3 per cent property tax increase in 2023 as the city aims to expand its fire rescue service which is facing an ongoing rise in calls.

The exact impact on property taxes is not yet known because final figures are being calculated for council’s Dec. 19 vote on the provisional budget for 2023, which is part of a five-year financial plan required for all municipalities.

The budget bylaw goes to council for three readings this month. Final reading for adoption takes place in January.

A draft budget for this year was initially anticipated to result in a 5.2 per cent property tax increase with another one per cent for the general asset management reserve fund for a total of 6.2 per cent.

The latest plan, endorsed by council on Monday, includes a general tax increase of 6.3 per cent plus another one per cent for the general asset management fund for a total of 7.3 per cent.

User fees for sewer, water and sanitation will be on top of that.

A key feature of the new budget is the planned addition of 20 firefighters as of August 2023, along with a heavy rescue vehicle with pumper capability costing $1.6 million.

The fire rescue master plan includes another 20 firefighters for January 2025. This plan has $1.2 million from the city’s strategic infrastructure reserve for a new fire engine.

A maximum of $1.451 million would be allocated in the five-year fiscal plan for modifications and upgrades to existing fire stations. More details on those costs is still to be developed, Fire Chief Tim Doyle told a Dec. 1 finance and audit committee meeting.

Nanaimo is one of the fastest-growing cities in the province with more than 100,000 residents which puts pressure on services.

Firefighters respond to more than structure fires — they are called out, for example, to cardiac arrests, drug overdoses and major accidents.

“There is an urgent need for firefighters in the city,” said Doyle, who was backed by firefighters who showed up for the committee meeting.

Nanaimo Fire Rescue is experiencing “enormous increases in incidents,” he said. “The growth in 2022 has simply been staggering.”

This year is expected to end with more than 9,600 incidents, close to 27 per day, Doyle said.

“In the last two months, we have responded almost to 50 days of incidents (with) over 27 (calls).”

Normally the number of calls declines in the shoulder seasons but that is not the case this year.

Coun. Tyler Brown put forward the successful motion at the committee meeting to add firefighters and vehicles, saying the department is responding to modern challenges.

The number of toxic drug deaths is not even plateauing, he said. “It has continued to increase and there is no end in sight.”

Brown, who said affordability is challenging these days, said the fire rescue expansion “is the only responsible decision.”

Coun. Ian Thorpe agreed. “They have been doing yeoman’s service in an understaffed ­situation and we need to try and rectify that starting immediately,” he said.

Coun. Janice Perrino said, “You need to be able to get to these incidents as quickly as possible. You need to do it with the right equipment, the right manpower, and we have to support that.”

She said she hates raising taxes but the city is growing quickly.

“We are going to encourage growth because we want our community to be beautiful and to be healthy into the future. So you know it is important that your department grows to be able to handle the magnitude of the work that you’ve got head of you.”

The budget also allows for hiring several staff, including a project accountant, a community development clerk, a records management clerk and a human resources adviser.

cjwilson@timescolonist.com

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