The Islands Trust Council is proposing a two per cent property tax increase for the 2019/2020 budget.
The exception is for Bowen Island residents who will be looking at a 13 per cent tax increase mostly as a result of the recent property assessments.
Chair Peter Luckham said the two percent increase in taxes is as a result of expenses beyond the control of the Council.
“We are going for a little bit of an increase this year because some of the costs are simply cost of living, union increases and wages and other inflationary expenses. It would concern me if we didn’t reflect that in our budget.”
The Total Islands Trust budget is 7 point 8-9 million dollars and about 71 per cent of it is used for local planning services.
About 18 per cent is used for Trust Council and council committee meetings and 11 per cent is for the Islands Trust Conservancy.
The budget will draw 249,000 dollars from the General Revenue Surplus Fund which still has a healthy balance of one point 9 million dollars.
You can give feedback on the Islands Trust website.
