On May 3, Golden council adopted the 2022 town budget and five-year financial plan, which reflects a five per cent increase from last year’s budget.
“As we emerge from the pandemic years with renewed resilience, we are seeing, now and over the last two years, an entirely unexpected level of development activity, grant application success, planned infrastructure replacements, service pressures, and internal staffing changes, all propelling us forward,” said Mayor Ron Oszust.
“The approved budget will help the town continue to keep up with inflation, albeit not balancing its effect, as we plan to re-examine our reserve policy in 2023 to ensure adequate balances in forthcoming years.” Following the budget and financial plan process, council adopted the 2022 Tax Rates Bylaw on May 9.
The Tax Rates bylaw is set over several classes of property and determines how much each property class contributes to the budget.
The mil rate, the amount of tax payable per thousand dollars of the assessed value of a property, for residential properties has decreased to 4.14 per cent, down from 5.2147 in 2021. The mil rate for commercial properties has decreased to 11.0694, down from 12.38 in 2021.
READ MORE: Town of Golden takes on several big projects in 2022 budget
For the average homeowner, this means that if property value increased by 25 per cent or less, municipal taxes will decrease.
If property value increased by 30 per cent, municipal taxes will increase by approximately 3.21 per cent, which translates to an additional $1.07 per month for every $100,000 in assessment value, according to the town.
Based on the 2022 BC Assessments, property values have risen on average by around 30 per cent for residential and commercial properties in Golden since last year.
“We were extra careful this year,” explained Oszust.
“We looked at the assessments for business and residential properties and the socioeconomic impacts of the pandemic.”
Projects for the year include the downtown transformation, which will continue with the long-awaited redevelopment of 9th Avenue North between IGA and Ford, which is listed as one of the notable expenditures for 2022.
The complete transformation for the Post Officer Plaza this fall is another initiative as a part of the downtown revitalization.
There will also be projects supporting recreation with new flooring at the Rec Plex and a renewed base and surface for the basketball courts and new outdoor rink, as well as supporting the skate park expansion project.
The Transportation and Active Transportation plans will be complete this year as well, setting a vision for the future of transportation in our community
“2022 will be a year of growth and moving forward,” said chief administrative officer Jon Wilsgard.
“We’ve been very fortunate to receive a number of small and large grants and an opportunity to borrow funds to address both core infrastructure and community improvements. Our organization will see some changes through re-structuring as we see increasing retirements, shifting demands, and new responsibilities.”
For more information and details on the 2022 budget and 2022-26 financial plan, visit golden.ca/budget. To learn more about your 2022 BC Assessment, visit bcassessment.ca.
