Civic tax hike OK'd

By Dan Hilborn
Published May 10, 2006


An attempt to lower the city's 2.95 per cent property tax increase by half a percentage point was defeated on Monday night, after rookie city councillor Garth Evans triggered a furious debate over the future use of the city's growing casino revenue fund.

In a 5-3 vote that split along party lines, council approved what finance committee chair Coun. Dan Johnston described as the second smallest property tax increase in the Lower Mainland.

Burnaby property taxes will rise about $34.77 on the average city home, estimated to be worth about $414,215, said Johnston. That increase pays for all city services, including garbage and recycling, but does not include regional levies for such things as water and sewer or the new TransLink parking tax, he added.

The tax hike will pay for eight new staff positions with the city, including two communications officers for the RCMP, a crime- free multi-family housing coordinator, a clerk at the McGill library, a software analyst in the finance department, one labourer and one operator in the engineering department and one more firefighter, said the budget documents.

But Evan's proposal to use of the city's growing $20 million casino fund to lower the tax increase did not go over well with the Burnaby Citizens Association majority on council.

Mayor Derek Corrigan spoke against the plan, saying the city has a long-standing policy of not using its casino revenue fund to offset its general operating revenue.

"I'm not trying to obstruct you, but we have a policy," said Corrigan, who noted that Evans did not raise the issue during any of three earlier meetings held to discuss the city's 2006 budget.

"It seems opportunistic," said Corrigan, who noted it would be more appropriate to approve this year's budget, and then put forward a notice of motion on a casino revenue policy for a future debate.

Although Evans did apologize for the last minute nature of his suggestion, he said he thought his plan to use about $700,000 out of the total $20 million casino revenue fund would be a good "compromise" for helping to keep the tax hike to a minimum.

"This is a small amount and I think it's a reasonable way to provide relief to our citizens," he said.

Coun. Lee Rankin spoke in favour of Evan's motion, saying the city continues to receive about $8 million annually from its casino funds, and those moneys are expected to keep flowing thanks to the ongoing $14 million expansion and renovation of the Gateway casino in the city.

"I call it an embarrassment of riches," Rankin said. "We're getting over $8 million a year, and council is allowed to use it for anything. ... It is incomprehensible to the people of Burnaby."

Rankin also said it was "ridiculous" that the city's policy prohibits the use of casino funds to offset tax increases.

Coun. Gary Begin also spoke in favour of the tax reduction plan, and said the main beneficiaries would be homeowners on fixed incomes, such as seniors.

But a variety of BCA members of council also spoke against the tax reduction plan.

Coun. Nick Volkow warned that city could put itself into a bind by using the casino revenues, because the transfer of casino money to the city could be ended at any time by a simple act from the provincial government.

"The casino won't go anywhere, but our access to the funds is very capricious," Volkow said. "I think it would be foolhardy to spend the funds on general revenue."

"This is the start of a slippery slope," added BCA Coun. Sav Dhaliwal. "We know that this is not the right way to go - spending funds that are already spoken for."

And Johnston said that Burnaby has already done a good job of giving its citizens the second lowest property tax hike in the Lower Mainland, behind only Surrey at 2.9 per cent.

Johnston said other municipal tax hikes in the region this year include a 3.9 per cent increase in Richmond, 4.0 per cent in Port Moody, 4.2 per cent in West Vancouver, 4.75 per cent in Maple Ridge and North Vancouver District, 4.86 per cent in North Vancouver City, 5.91 per cent in New Westminster and a 6.4 per cent residential property tax hike in Vancouver. (Last week, New Westminster city council vote to reduce its 2006 tax hike to 4.2 per cent.)

Burnaby's budget also includes funding for designs on a variety of new capital projects including a new No. 7 Fire Hall, an Edmonds area swimming pool, a renovated clubhouse at the Riverway golf course, and planning for a new Edmonds library.