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Inflation leads to 5.87% tax rate increase
The City of Cranbrook will need to increase its property tax rate by about 5.87% once the 2023 budget and five-year financial plan is adopted later this spring.
This proposed tax rate is lower than the BC Consumer Price Index (CPI) as of December 2022, which was 6.9%.
The city is experiencing inflation just like everyone else. The cost of fuel has risen dramatically; diesel fuel, which powers our plows, garbage trucks, and equipment, as an example, now costs nearly double what it did in 2021. Just as your household heating, electricity and grocery costs have jumped, so has your city’s buildings heating and electrical costs, along with things like parts, pipes, lumber, asphalt, concrete, and other building materials to maintain city infrastructure and roads.
The typical assessed value of a single-family home in Cranbrook increased from $396,000 in 2022 to $446,000 in 2023. Based on these updated values, provided by BC Assessment, a 5.87% increase in property taxes results in a $155 increase to the municipal tax bill from 2022.
Cranbrook’s proposed tax increase sits, on average, in the middle of the pack compared to other communities in British Columbia in 2023.
Below is a list of municipalities that have publicly proposed or adopted the following tax increases:
Prince George 7.58%
Squamish 8.90%
Salmon Arm 3.83%
Fort St. John 9.00%
Terrace 10.33%
Castlegar 6.65%
Vernon 4.79%
North Cowichan 5.6%
Kelowna 3.80%
Nanaimo 7.30%
Duncan 9.57%
The city’s 5.87% tax levy increase pertains only to the municipal portion of a property owner’s tax bill. A residential homeowner may see a larger increase dependent on the varying tax rates established for School District No. 5, the Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK), Kootenay East Regional Hospital District (KERHD), and B.C. Assessment.
The proposed 2023-2027 Five Year Financial Plan will be available on our website at www.cranbrook.ca or picked up at City Hall in March 2023, with an opportunity available for additional public comments and feedback.
City of Cranbrook
