The average homeowner in Richmond is set to pay $54 more in property taxes this year.
City councils finance committee approved Monday a 2.98 per cent property tax hike to maintain current service levels.
Much of the increase is being penciled in to cover salary rises, according to a report presented to councillors.
In terms of how it affects the people who pay property tax; if your home was assessed at $697,274, you will pay $54.39 more this year.
However, as the citys budgets and accounting manager, Nashater Sanghera, said in the operating budget report, the rise in tax will very much depend on whether the assessment on a property is higher or lower than the average.
In 2012, residential properties in the City of Richmond increased in value by approximately 17 per cent, wrote Sanghera.
If an assessment increase was higher than average, the property tax increase will be higher than the approved tax increase.
If a property assessment increase was lower than the average increase, then the property tax increase will be lower than the approved tax increase given, and in some cases may be less than the previous years taxes.
The proposed increase of 2.98 per cent is lower than the 3.1 that was forecast last year. In 2011, property taxes climbed 2.95 per cent, while in 2010, it went up 3.45.
The 2012 operating budget contains an increase of $2.7 million in net expenditures and a one per cent levy for infrastructure replacement.
The budget has still to be approved by council.
