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Sooke plans 7% property tax increase

Sooke homeowners are facing a property tax hike of 7.17 per cent this year. The increase would translate to about $88 on the average home assessed at $501,000. The municipality’s $22.
Sooke Mayor Maja Tait
Sooke Mayor Maja Tait said the additional spending is related to growth and maintaining core operations.

Sooke homeowners are facing a property tax hike of 7.17 per cent this year.

The increase would translate to about $88 on the average home assessed at $501,000. The municipality’s $22.2-million preliminary budget calls for the hiring of six additional staff.

Mayor Maja Tait said the additional spending is related to growth and maintaining core operations.

“Right now, we only have two building inspectors and we’re hitting record numbers of permits, so [it’s] how can we help make those improvements,” Tait said.

The six positions include an additional firefighter, a wastewater treatment operator, a municipal engineer, a building inspector, a records management clerk and a plans checker.

The financial plan projects district revenue from property taxes to increase to $11.1 million in 2023 from $8.3 million this year.

Years of near-zero tax increases have contributed to the need to play catch-up now, Tait said.

Residents will have an opportunity to offer comment at an open house on March 20. It will be held from 3 to 7 p.m. in council chambers, 2225 Otter Point Rd.

“Part of those increases are to try to build out reserves to implement an asset management policy — because every road we build has to be maintained at a future point — and to start building up some savings,” she said.

Staff also are planning to examine all municipal fees with the possibility of reducing future tax increases.

Tait said development and building fees haven’t been increased in 20 years.

Sooke councillors, who have already done a line-by-line budget review, gave it unanimous approval at its first two readings this week.