Taxes are expected to increase across the board this year for those living in the Regional District of Nanaimo, according director of finance Wendy Idema, who presented the RDN's provisional budget last Tuesday.
"The biggest hits are around liquid waste and transit," said Idema, noting "other big hits" are from the various volunteer fire departments in the RDN.
Idema said it's important to remember that "taxpayer profiles" are different within the regional district because not every taxpayer participates in every service. The results vary across municipalities and electoral areas.
According to the preliminary numbers released last week, Nanoose Bay property owners will hand over $2.1 million to the RDN, an increase of $71,626 or 3.5 per cent. That means per $100,000 of property value, taxes will increase by $3 from last year to $111.60 plus a flat $27.74 regional parcel tax totaling $139.34.
According to the Vancouver Island Real Estate board, the average sale price for a single family residential unit in Parksville Qualicum Beach in 2014 was approximately $400,000. This number will be used to calculate the average tax increases in the region.
In Nanoose Bay, based on this formula, owners of a $400,000 property would pay $474, an increase of $11 from last year.
In Coombs/Errington per $100,000 of property value, taxes will increase by $1 to $177.24. The average property owner will pay $626, an increase of $5.
In French Creek the general service cost for $100,000 of property will increase by $3 to $180.84. The average property owner will pay $640, an $11 increase.
In Deep Bay/Bowser per $100,000 of property value, taxes will be $174.84, an increase of $3. Based on the average home, property owners will pay $616, a $9 increase.
In the City of Parksville per $100,000 of property, residents will pay $205.46, an increase of $8 from last year. Based on the average home Parksville residents will pay $745 in taxes, an increase of $31.
In the Town of Qualicum Beach per $100,000 of property, owners will pay $183.56, an increase of $3 from last year. The average property owner will put forward $657, an $11 increase from last year.
The tax impact on Parksville and Qualicum Beach property owners is determined by their own municipal budget processes.
Idema said the RDN tax is just one part of the tax bill for municipalities. She said electoral areas will also pay extra for improvement districts they are involved in, school taxes, police taxes and provincial rural taxes.
The provisional budget numbers are subject to change in the next few weeks. Idema said RDN staff are hoping to present a bylaw to the board by March 10 and the budget must be finalized by the end of the month.
According to the RDN's 2015 provisional budget, general tax revenues are expected to reach $37.1 million, a seven per cent increase over last year.
The five-year plan which spans 2015 to 2019 is set to see tax increases across all jurisdictions of the regional district and will result in a consolidated tax revenue of $50.6 million by 2019.