Vote Vancouver: end the 0% property tax freeze and publish a clear budget
Vote Vancouver would end what it calls the current 0% property tax freeze and replace it with predictable property tax increases, publish the city budget online in a clear format, study the creative economy, attract Cascadia investment, and press other governments for money and a tax break on municipal bonds.
ECONOMIC DRIVERS · PAGE 36
Budget, Property Tax and Partnerships: what the Policy Priorities says
The second half of Vote Vancouver's "Economic Drivers" list is about the city's money. Its largest item is property tax. The party would end what it calls the current 0% property tax freeze and replace it with predictable, sustainable increases based on long-term financial planning. The party gives its reason. It says the freeze has led to higher parking costs and cuts to community services, and that while raising property taxes is not ideal, it is a more predictable way to fund the city than closing community centres and removing lifeguards from beaches. It would also publish the city budget online in a clear, easy format.
Three items look outward. The party would study the economic impact of the creative industries to show the jobs and investment they bring. It would work with partners in the Cascadia region to attract investment and jobs. It would build on tourism, including seasonal and sports tourism, with provincial funding and festival and sports partners. And it would use Rebecca Bligh's ties with other governments to press for money for childcare, supportive housing, mental health and schools, and ask Ottawa to make municipal bonds tax-exempt.
Council sets the property tax rate each year and approves the operating budget, so the tax change and the budget format are its own decisions. Health services, childcare operating money and the school funding formula are provincial, and the bond tax exemption is a federal decision, so on those the party can only ask. A council decision needs six of the eleven votes, so the tax change would need a majority on Council.
THE PARTY'S NUMBERS
Figures in this chapter
The current property tax freeze the party says it would end
The party's figure, page 367 COMMITMENTS
What the party says it would do
Economic impact study of creative industries
Vote Vancouver would conduct an economic impact study of Vancouver's creative industries, to understand and communicate the jobs, investment and economic activity the sector generates.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council can fund and order a city study.
Cascadia investment
The party would work with regional partners to attract investment, talent and jobs while strengthening Vancouver's position as a North American centre for innovation within the Cascadia region.
- Who has the power
- City, with others This depends on partners outside the city agreeing to work together.
End the 0% property tax freeze
Vote Vancouver would end what it calls the 0% property tax freeze and replace it with predictable, sustainable property tax increases based on responsible long-term financial planning. The party says the freeze adds to higher parking costs and cuts to community services, and that tax increases are a more predictable way to fund the city than closing community centres and removing lifeguards from beaches.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council sets the property tax rate each year.
Publish the budget in a clear format
The party would publish the City's budget publicly online in a clear, understandable format.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council approves the operating budget and decides how it is presented to the public.
Advocating for funding from other governments
Vote Vancouver would use Rebecca Bligh's existing relationships with all orders of government to advocate for more funding and support for combined projects such as affordable childcare, supportive housing, mental health and addiction supports, and schools.
- Who has the power
- City, with others This is advocacy, so the money would come only if the Province or the federal government agrees.
Tax exemption on municipal bonds
The party would advocate to the federal government for tax exemptions on municipal bonds.
- Who has the power
- Federal government The platform names the federal government as the body that would have to grant this exemption.
Tourism with provincial funding
Vote Vancouver would build on recent successes as a tourism destination, including seasonal and sports tourism, by partnering with the provincial government for funding and using existing relationships with festival organizers and sports leaders.
- Who has the power
- City, with others The platform relies on provincial funding and on outside festival and sports partners.
WHO WOULD HAVE TO ACT
Where the power sits for this chapter
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Questions about budget, property tax and partnerships
Would Vote Vancouver raise property taxes in Vancouver?
Yes. Vote Vancouver would end what it calls the current 0% property tax freeze and replace it with predictable, sustainable property tax increases based on long-term financial planning. The platform does not give a rate (Policy Priorities, page 36).
Why does Vote Vancouver want to end the property tax freeze?
The party says the freeze has added to higher parking costs and cuts to community services. It says tax increases are a more predictable way to fund the city than closing community centres and removing lifeguards from beaches (Policy Priorities, page 36).
What does Vote Vancouver say about the city budget?
Vote Vancouver would publish the city's budget online in a clear, understandable format (Policy Priorities, page 36).
What is Vote Vancouver's Cascadia plan?
The party would work with regional partners to attract investment, talent and jobs and strengthen Vancouver's place as a North American centre for innovation in the Cascadia region (Policy Priorities, page 36).
What would Vote Vancouver ask Ottawa for?
Vote Vancouver would advocate to the federal government for tax exemptions on municipal bonds, and use Rebecca Bligh's ties with other governments to press for money for childcare, supportive housing, mental health and schools (Policy Priorities, page 36).
Who sets property taxes in Vancouver?
City Council sets the property tax rate each year and approves the operating budget, so Vote Vancouver could end the freeze it describes with a council majority (Policy Priorities, page 36).
ON THE BALLOT
The Vote Vancouver candidates behind this
Sources
Every commitment on this page comes from the party's own material, marked SAYS SO ITSELF. It proves what the party says it would do. Who holds each power is our own addition, from the sources listed after it.
- Vote Vancouver Policy Priorities SAYS SO ITSELFVote Vancouver · pages 36 · checked