Interested in knowing what the residential tax increase will be in each area of the Tri-Port this year?
Well look no further, as the North Island Gazette has reached out to all three communities’ financial departments requesting numbers for our readers to crunch. Here’s what we’ve dug up.
Port Hardy:
The total tax increase for 2018 will be 4.025 per cent, which includes a 1.25 per cent increase for remuneration to Port Hardy Fire Rescue volunteers. The actual municipal tax on a $500,000 home will be $2,908.38 and the average single family residential home valued at $165,595 will be $963.22.
“Council aims to keep taxes to a two per cent-three per cent increase to cover the basic service levels. This rate increases for new or improved services such as this year’s decision to fund the Fire Department compensation” – Port Hardy Mayor Hank Bood.
Port McNeill:
The total tax increase for 2018 will be 2.7 per cent, which is the net change in the consumer price index plus an additional one per cent to cover the increased cost of paying an honorarium to the fire department personnel and emergency coordinator. The tax on the average $230,000 home is $1,322.
“Port McNeill has a longstanding history of keeping taxes affordable for residents. Because we have added stipends for first responders this year, it went up from 1.7 per cent” – Port McNeill Mayor Shirley Ackland.
Port Alice:
The total tax increase for 2018 will be 11 per cent, which would translate into an increase of $414.24 on a $500,000 house, but there aren’t any homes in Port Alice valued at $500,000. The tax on the average $120,000 home in Port Alice will be $135.
“Port Alice tax rates decreased 7.4 per cent in 2016. In 2017 services were cut to enable a 25 per cent decrease in taxation for the Neucel Mill. This year we are recovering from both those actions. Also we had to fund both a by-election in February and the regular municipal election this October” – Bonnie Danyk, Acting Chief Administrative Officer and Finance Officer for the Village of Port Alice.
