Preliminary tax and housing assessments for the City of Armstrong have increased.
Figures released by B.C. Assessments show an increase in of 5.8 per cent for the total tax assessment for the city, and the average assessment for a single family residence went up by 4.7 per cent.
“The thing to remember is this is preliminary,” said Armstrong chief financial officer Terry Martens. “The process concludes at the end of January.”
The total tax assessment for the city is $664 million worth of value and improvements. That’s an increase of $35 million from 2015.
“Some of that is market change, some is new construction,” said Martens. “I don’t have the new construction figures yet but I estimate those figures at around $10 million.”
The average single family residence in Armstrong in 2016 is $308,000.
The market changes do not affect overall taxes because the city’s tax rates are like a yo-yo.
“They go up and down based on market fluctuations,” said Martens. “Tax rates do take advantage of the increased tax base from new construction.”
The city is beginning to work on its five-year financial plan, which has to be adopted in May.
