Property Taxes, Part 2: What's behind the number?

A municipal property tax increase tells you how much more you're paying. It doesn't tell you whether the budget was good or bad. For that, you need to know where the money went and what happens if you don't spend it. Take Sooke's 10.5% increase in 2026. We're talking here about the District of Sooke portion of your property tax bill – the part Council controls. For the average residential property, that was about $15.57/month.

3.04% – Fire: about $4.50/month, including two new career firefighters.

2.60% – Police: about $3.85/month, including two new RCMP officers supporting 24/7 policing.

0.97% – E-Comm 9-1-1: about $1.45/month.

That's 6.61% for public safety. Another 2% – about $3/month – went to asset management: putting money aside to maintain and replace infrastructure we already own.

That left a 1.89% increase for general municipal operations and debt servicing.

Now look ahead to 2027. We already know costs are coming: asset management, police and fire staffing, inflation, and other operating costs. E-Comm alone is set to jump from about $456,000 to $750,000 a year – another $300,000, or roughly 2%. Municipalities are pushing the Province for a 911 levy on cell phones, as other provinces already do. We should fight the Province’s downloads hard, but we can't pretend they aren't in the budget while we fight them. And there are bigger needs ahead. Our wastewater treatment plant will need another expansion. We need roads and drainage maintained. A healthy community also needs parks, trails, sports fields, recreation, and places to gather.

That's the real budget conversation: What do we need? What can wait? Where can we save? What should others pay for? How do we plan ahead instead of continually playing catch-up? Affordability matters. So does building and maintaining a community that works for us today and that our kids can afford to inherit tomorrow. Our job is to find that balance – and be honest about the choices and the costs.