City council finalized a zero per cent tax increase for 2021 on Monday night.
Council approved the city's five-year operating and capital financial plans, and the city's 2021 tax rate bylaw.
In February, council approved using more than $3 million of the $6.1 million provincial Safe Restart Fund grant it received to keep the tax levy at the same level as 2020.
"It's nice to see the zero per cent tax increase," Coun. Brian Skakun said. "The community really appreciated it."
Homeowners will pay a cumulative residential property tax rate of $7.70854 per $1,000 of assessed value to the city and Regional District of Fraser-Fort. When property owners receive their tax bill, the final bill will also include the provincial school tax, BC Assessment tax and Municipal Finance Authority tax.
For an average single-family home in the city, assessed at $333,000, the municipal and regional district property tax bill would equal $2,566.94 before the home owner's grant is applied.
The local residential tax rate is down from 8.20262 in 2020 and 8.39902 in 2019. However, in January, BC Assessment reported that assessed values for single-family homes in the city rose by seven per cent in 2021, compared to 2020. The average value of condos and townhouses rose eight per cent.
The same representative home worth $333,000 in 2021 was only worth $310,000 in 2020 and $296,000 in 2019.
Coun. Terri McConnachie said using the Safe Restart money to keep the tax levy at the same level as 2020 made good sense. The financial situation facing the city at budget time was significantly impacted by costs and lost revenue due to COVID-19, she said.
"It made sense to me to take some of that restart money and apply it to where it is relevant – and we did," she said. "We were able to do this without risking any of our services."
Coun. Cori Ramsay didn't support the zero per cent tax increase, and said using the one-time funding to offset the increase will mean council will be facing a bigger increase in 2022.
"It's really going to impact us in a big way," she said. "We're going to have to make some tough decisions next year."
MILL RATES BY CLASS
Here are the City of Prince George 2021 property tax mill rates – taxes per $1,000 in assessed property value – including all taxes collected by the city and Regional District of Fraser-Fort George, and excluding the provincial school tax, BC Assessment tax and Municipal Finance Authority tax. The 2020 rates appear in brackets:
• Residential*: 7.70854 (8.20262)
• Utility: 44.37965 (45.00401)
• Major industry: 54.12174 (54.8488)
• Light industry: 29.75638 (30.21642)
• Business/other: 18.85721 (19.16055)
• Managed forest land: 9.81396 (10.41013)
• Farm: 6.31583 (6.42450)
* Supportive housing, recreational property and non-profits pay the same local taxes as residential properties.
