I understand that the COVID-19 pandemic is occupying almost all our attention – and rightly so. But soon another issue is going to emerge in Oak Bay.
While I know Oak Bay council has been hard at work crafting a budget for 2020, I am not getting much information at all.
What concerns me is that the little I have heard suggests council is poised to raise the budget by six to eight per cent.
Included in this increase are a significant number of staff additions which will cost over $1 million annually to be added to the ongoing expense of the District. Given we are not an growing district, that translates almost directly to a tax increase of the same amount.
Really? Do they suppose the citizens of Oak Bay will accept this? When (and now how) is council intending to take this proposition to the electorate to convince them that they have matters under control at City Hall?
Prior to moving here almost three years ago I lived for over three decades in Delta. We went from massive capital expenditures for roads, sewers and the like to massive debt payments to reducing the debt to zero while holding taxes in line.
How? That’s another story, but one that needs to be learned.
Ian Robertson
Oak Bay
