Dear Editor,
Re: "Two Richmond councillors oppose 2025 budget"
On Dec. 9, Richmond City Council approved its 2025 budget, which includes a 5.86 per cent property tax increase.
Within a day, Vancouver City Council approved a significantly lower 3.9-per-cent increase — a remarkable achievement, especially considering Vancouver’s original staff recommendation of seven per cent.
This reduction, which is below the rate of inflation, was achieved without cutting services or jobs.
During Richmond’s budget discussions, I twice attempted to reduce the tax increase to 5.55 per cent — first at the General Purposes Committee meeting and again during the final vote — but without success.
My reasoning is simple: with the potential for a 25-per-cent tariff on Canadian products when Donald Trump returns to office as the United States president, Richmond residents may soon face challenging economic times. We need to give our community some breathing room.
Vancouver’s success came from the Mayor’s Budget Task Force, established in April 2023, which was charged with identifying efficiencies and potential revenue sources in the city’s budget.
Their recommendations helped Vancouver achieve probably the lowest tax increases in Metro Vancouver. Additionally, Vancouver resists absorbing costs being downloaded from higher levels of government, which Richmond has always done.
As I highlighted in city council meetings, this practice puts undue strain on our taxpayers.
If Vancouver can achieve this level of fiscal responsibility, Richmond can, too. I strongly believe Richmond should follow Vancouver’s model by appointing a similar task force to identify savings and reduce the burden on residents.
We owe it to our community to explore every option for keeping taxes reasonable without sacrificing essential services.
Coun. Chak Au
Richmond
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