Dear Editor,
Re: "Letters: Richmond councillor calls for lower taxes"
Last week, city council passed the civic budget for 2025.
The mandate includes preserving the high quality of services for residents and businesses while keeping Richmond safe and secure.
The recently approved budget highlights investments in public safety and infrastructure with more police and fire officers, new fire vehicles and critical flood protection.
The city will maintain roads, ensure the provision of safe drinking water, and also ensure that our award-winning recreation facilities remain the envy of others.
One per cent is applied to a reserve for future capital building projects, thus avoiding debt financing.
While no one likes increases in taxes, all this and more is achieved with a 5.86-per-cent tax increase, one of the lowest in the region.
That equates to about 35 cents extra per day for the average Richmond property.
In a recent letter, a Richmond councillor compared our tax increase to those in Vancouver where the situation is different.
For example, in the past two years, Vancouver has traditionally seen annual increases that are two to five per cent higher than Richmond’s.
And there are always ways to increase revenues that are less direct than levying higher property taxes.
New or higher civic fees and charges are less visible but still hit the pockets of all – and aren’t categorized as taxes.
During council’s debates on the 2025 budget, the same councillor advocated to further reduce the annual tax increase by simply taking more funding from the reserves previously set aside for a rainy day.
No others on council supported this approach because it would put the future at risk.
The city continually reviews its programs to improve services and reduce costs. User fees need to be in line with the current market.
The ongoing challenge is to identify opportunities to reduce costs while maintaining service levels, increase revenue projections through senior level contributions and reallocate existing resources to reflect emerging needs.
Every effort is made to keep taxes reasonable without sacrificing essential services or postponing responsibilities.
With our open budget process and council’s commitment to ensuring that the results are in the best interests of the community, Richmond will continue to develop fiscally prudent budgets that meet current and future community needs.
Malcolm D. Brodie
Richmond Mayor
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