Despite the ever increasing property assessments in Oak Bay, Director of Financial Services, Debbie Carter, says it’s too soon to say if residents can expect increases in their taxes come July.
“If your assessed value goes up five percent, that doesn’t mean your taxes are going to five percent,” Carter said. “That just means that your assessed value – the base that we use to determine the taxes – has gone up in value. That means that we at the municipality have to adjust our rates so that were not taxing you the same as what your property value went up.”
Carter went on to say that determining yearly tax rates is a complicated process that involves lots of variables. Assessment numbers do play a role in pinpointing what the tax rate will be set at, but only after the municipality’s budget requirements are determined. That appears in the yearly budget, the draft of which is expected to be completed in late March or Early April, Carter said. Once the financial needs for the year are set, the municipality then will use average property values as a base for determining tax rates.
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Assessments changes can sometimes play a bigger role if your property is significantly above or below the average – roughly $1.2 million this year. Carter says that’s because the municipality sets rates based on the average price in Oak Bay. Properties that are on the pricier end can see rate changes translate into higher dollar figures, while the opposite can happen with the more affordable properties in Oak Bay. Carter went on to say that the municipality uses its own assessments, though those numbers tend to be very close to BC Assessments.
“Every year we get a lot people inquiring about it and upset that their property assessed values have gone up so much, and we have to try and explain that that doesn’t mean that your taxes are going up by that much,” Carter said. “In fact, they may not go up at all.”
At this stage it is too early for Carter to guess if residents can expect a hike this year. In addition to determining Oak Bay’s own budget needs, they also collect revenue on behalf of regional bodies, such as the CRD and BC Transit. They are still waiting on specific external agency requirements, and roughly 46 per cent of Oak Bay property taxes goes directly to outside agencies.
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