Property taxes will soon be up for discussion in Langley Township and City, with both councils set to decide on the 2019 tax rates in the coming months.
Township council is planning a five-hour session devoted to the budget on the afternoon of Feb. 4, from 1 to 6 p.m. The meeting will be open to the public.
The council has already been given a bit of an update on some of the cost drivers expected to impact this year’s finances, said Karen Sinclair, acting director of finance for the Township.
For example, costs of salary and wages, along with a new health care tax replacing the MSP, will be about 2.81 per cent this year, said Sinclair.
That number is before growth is accounted for. Typically, the Township grows by about 1.5 to two per cent per year, which helps keep up with some increasing costs.
Policing will also cost more in 2019, as the Township hired four new RCMP officers who started their duties last October.
Following their first session talking about the budget on Feb. 4, the Township council is likely to meet again on Feb. 11 before their afternoon and evening council meetings.
The public will get a chance to ask questions and give input to staff about the budget at a pair of open houses. They have been tentatively scheduled for Feb. 19 from 1 to 8 p.m. and Feb. 20 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Township Civic Facility.
In Langley City, the council will have a budget presentation and could vote on the first two readings of a budget bylaw as early as Feb. 11 at the regular council meeting in City hall.
On Feb. 20, a financial plan open house is scheduled from 6-7:30 p.m. downstairs in the City Hall lobby.
More public input will be sought at the Feb. 25 council meeting, with the final vote scheduled for March 11.
