The Town of Golden is committed to sound financial management and developing a responsible and sustainable budget. On May 7, the Council adopted the 2024 budget and five-year financial plan after many thoughtful and engaged discussions about the Town’s services, the taxpayers’ desires, and the costs of both. The budget will allow the Town to maintain current service levels in the face of increased inflation, interest, and marketplace costs while also meeting a growing community’s changing needs and expectations.
“Our historical increases to property taxes have been very consistent and moderate. People will notice this year’s jump, but the current economy is forcing us to increase our base operational budget to keep up with core infrastructure and service responsibilities,” said Mayor Ron Oszust.
This year residents will see a wide range of projects taking place to support core services: work will begin on Well 7 at Dogwood Park, and progress will continue on the Integrated Sanitary Sewer Upgrades project, along with the replacement of the Edelweiss sanitary lift station; additional earthen dike work is scheduled along the Kicking Horse River; staff will continue to provide support for the provincial Kicking Horse Bridge replacement project, and short-term rental regulations will be implemented.
Council Chambers will undergo an audio-visual upgrade to support recorded meetings, enhancing transparency and information accessibility; work will continue on the Mount 7 Rec Plex block to improve the recreation experiences being offered; funded through the Resort Municipality Initiative, portions of the Trans-Canada Highway corridor will see new irrigation infrastructure and an expanded washroom facility at the Visitor Information Centre will be built, and already this year we have seen the official completion of the Downtown Plaza Revitalization project.
On May 7, the Council also adopted the 2024 Tax Rates Bylaw. The tax rates determine how much each property class contributes, and the revenue collected helps support the Town’s ongoing operations and maintenance of existing service levels.
Due to the notable cost increase, the average homeowner will see a larger-than-historical increase in their taxes, at approximately $24 per month for their Town of Golden property taxes (which equates to approximately $284 for the year).
In addition to Municipal taxes, the Town is also responsible for collecting taxes on behalf of other taxing authorities. This year, the average increase from these non-municipal entities is approximately 2.85%.
Of the total taxes collected, 62% will be kept by the Town to fund municipal operations, slightly up from 58% in 2023. The Town collects the remainder and pays to the Columbia Shuswap Regional District, the Province of BC (Police and School Tax), the Municipal Finance Authority, the BC Assessment Authority, and the Kootenay East Regional Hospital District.
“Our very high success rate with grants lets us get a lot of infrastructure work done without having to use property tax revenues for it,” said Chief Administrative Officer Jon Wilsgard. “Local governments everywhere are facing tremendous pressures to their ability to maintain infrastructure and the services citizens expect without considerable increases to their budgets. The costs of commodities, goods, services, and interest rate impacts affect us like any other business or resident. A scan around the province puts us in the middle of the pack with our fellow municipalities regarding the scope of that percentage increase.”
For more information and details on the 2024 budget and 2024-2028 financial plan, visit golden.ca/budget and to learn more about your 2024 BC Assessment, visit bcassessment.ca
