Budget talks are into the final stages at the City of Nanaimo.
Under a new process councillors have a lot more say on individual budget items. They’ve been going through a series of meetings, each focused on a specific departmental budget. On Thursday they start going through each item; line-by-line.
Brian Clemens, Director of Finance, says it gives Council more control and responsibility.
Clemens says if Council approves everything that’s on the table, and doesn’t add anything new, Nanaimo residents are looking at a 2.8% increase in property taxes for 2014.
Gibsons is into the final stretch with its budget too.
Right now the possible tax increase sits at 5 per cent. That’s an overall figure and how it breaks down between residential and other classes is one of the things still to be decided.
2 per cent is going to pay for capital projects. Another 2 per cent is for the Harbour Authority. Town officials say that’s not an increase in the true sense, because property owners are no longer paying that part of their taxes to the Regional District for its ports function.
