Vancouver city council has finalized its 2025 budget, approving a 3.9 per cent property tax hike.
The $2.4-billion budget, passed Tuesday, was hailed a “great day” by Mayor Ken Sim.
The property tax increase includes one per cent allocated for infrastructure renewal. A statement from the city says the overall increase of 3.9 per cent is one of the lowest across the region following a 7.5 per cent increase for 2024.
In May, Sim asked staff to report back with a draft budget examining whether property taxes could be capped at 5.5 per cent.
At Tuesday's meeting, Sim said staff identified about $22 million in efficiencies.
“If you’re a resident of the city of Vancouver, if you own a business in the city of Vancouver, if you support our team members, if you believe in fiscal responsibility, today is a great day,” the mayor added.
Green Coun. Adriane Carr questioned where some of the efficiencies came from.
“Three point nine per cent is going to sound really good to the taxpayers of the city, no doubt,” she said. “I do always worry: Is it artificially low? Where do those savings just all of a sudden magically appear from?”
When asked for more detail, the mayor’s office pointed to efficiencies that included increasing the 2025 operating budget line item for investment income revenue by $4.3 million based on updated forecasts, and decreasing the 2025 operating budget line item for the Vancouver Police Department and Vancouver Fire Rescue Services E-comm and Prime levies by $1.3 million.
The city’s ABC-majority council insisted there were no cuts to services in the budget.
One of the city’s largest budget items is the Vancouver Police Department. The VPD had initially asked for $22.8 million, more than twice the amount being recommended in the report.
Instead, the city allocated about $14 million to the force.
“We were asking for a little bit more, but I'm happy with the amount that was decided upon,” said Chief Const. Adam Palmer. “It allows us to address the critical areas we wanted to.”
Palmer said next year’s net policing budget will hover around $425 million.
“Our relationship with the mayor and council is very good,” he added.
When asked why council didn’t fully fund the VPD request, Sim said the city is taking a pragmatic approach.
“We came to an agreement where given all the objectives we want to achieve, this budget works for the police force, as well,” he said.
