The City of Vancouver has passed its 2012 Operating Budget and residents will see a tax increase of 2.8 percent.
Councillor Raymond Louie says the budget increases funding for libraries, parks and the police, arguing the tax increase is in-line with the rest of the region, “The increase for our residential homeowners is after the final component of shift occurs, will be somewhere just over 40 dollars, and certainly much improved over the original estimates when we had a 52-million dollar gap.”
The budget didn’t pass unanimously though. Both NPA Councillors George Affleck and Elizabeth Ball, along with the Green’s Adriane Carr voted against it.
Affleck says he figures that 2.8 percent increase isn’t accurate, “2.8 percent! I mean, this is exactly what I was predicting. If you include utilities, now we’re at 3.4 to 5 percent tax increase for Vancouver taxpayers. It’s a slippery slope, we’re already on our way to a huge tax increase for Vancouverites.”
The three opposed Councillors had argued they hadn’t been provided with enough information to vote in favour of the budget.
Raymound Louie simply calls that political posturing.
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