April 26 Council Meeting: Tax rate bylaw, $7.5 million loan, and water and sewer master plans

While Langley City Council approved the 2021 budget in February, Council now has to approve a bylaw to collect property tax in 2021. The following table shows the number of each property type and the change in the property tax for this year.

	Properties	Ratio	$ Change	% Change
Average Single Family	3,303	1.00	$103.00	4.85%
Average Strata	6,634	1.00	$64.00	6.47%
Average Light Industrial	78	2.28	$1,167.00	5.05%
Average Business	620	2.54	$804.00	3.85%

The City plans to collect about 50% of property tax from residential property owners and 50% from all other property owners such as commercial property owners. In total, the City plans to collect $31.4 million in property tax this year.

City Council gave first, second, and third reading to this bylaw. Council also gave first, second, and third reading to the Tax Penalty Addition Bylaw. If a property owner is late with paying their property tax bill, they are charged a 5% late fee in July and an additional 5% late fee in August. Last year, City Council adjusted the late fees due to the pandemic, but this was unnecessary. People paid their taxes consistently like in previous years. This bylaw restores the late fees to what they were previously.

Part of the 2021 budget includes borrowing $7.5 million to purchase property to support the expansion of SkyTrain to Langley City. Because the City is borrowing money, we have to go through the Alternative Approval Process.

This process will allow people to submit an official opposition to borrowing these funds. If the 10% of the electors in Langley City, 2,137 people, oppose the borrowing, the City will have to hold a referendum on the borrowing or not borrowing the funding.

Council approved the Alternative Approval Process. The City will advertise information about this process per provincial law.

City Council approved staff applying for a provincial grant of $220,000 through the UBCM-administered Local Government Development Approvals Program to fund the City’s Water Distribution and Sanitary Sewer System Master Plans.