Castlegar's proposed 2025 budget ready for community input
Following two days of deliberations, City of Castlegar Council has released the proposed 2025 – 2029 Financial Plan and is now seeking feedback from residents.
The proposed 2025 budget includes a 7.27 per cent tax increase for residential properties and a 7.54 per cent increase for business and light industrial properties. This equates to $98.88 annually (or $8.24 per month) for the City portion of property taxes on an average single-detached home in Castlegar. It’s important to note that City taxes are only one part of your tax notice, which also includes levies collected on behalf of the Province of BC, regional district, and schools.
The proposed 2025 budget reflects the City’s commitment to maintaining reliable services and core infrastructure while planning for the future of a growing community. It also accounts for increased responsibilities stemming from new provincial and federal requirements.
Budget highlights include:
- Upgrading the South Sewage Treatment Plant to enhance plant performance and increase treatment capacity.
- Developing a Liquid Waste Management Plan to provide 20-year guidance on the City’s wastewater and stormwater systems.
- Continuing the phased-in Infrastructure Investment Levy to address the City’s historical infrastructure deficit, which provides a revenue stream to fund capital projects related to roads, fleet, equipment, parks and facilities.
- Developing a Parks Master Plan to guide the development and improvement of green spaces.
- Launching a community survey to gather valuable input on municipal service levels and community priorities.
- Continuing work with Transport Canada to improve flight reliability at the West Kootenay Regional Airport.
- Assessing community needs for childcare spaces and creating a childcare plan.
- Launching a new program for homeowners looking to add a smaller, secondary home, such as a secondary suite, basement suite, carriage house, or garden suite, on the same lot as their main dwelling.
- Collaborating on primary care and housing projects to deliver modern medical and clinical spaces and new non-market housing units.
- Meeting new expectations from higher levels of government, including housing needs, energy efficiency, wildfire mitigation, and emergency preparedness.
“Developing this year’s draft budget was challenging as we focused on what the City needs in response to growing pressure on service levels, “ says Chris Barlow, Chief Administrative Officer. “We worked to balance essential investments in services and critical infrastructure with minimizing financial impacts on residents already facing rising costs of living.”
Residents can watch the recordings of Council’s 2025 Draft Budget deliberations at castlegar.ca/councilmeetings.
Share Your Thoughts
The City is hosting a public drop-in open house to share information and receive feedback on the proposed 2025 Budget.
DETAILS:
- Date: Tuesday, February 11, 2025 from 5 – 7 p.m.
- In-person: Community Forum, 445-13th Ave.
- Online via Zoom: Find login details at castlegar.ca/councilmeetings
- Staff presentation will begin at 5:30 p.m.
Find the proposed 2025 – 2029 Financial Plan at castlegar.ca/budget and send your thoughts via email to budget@castlegar.ca by February 13, 2025.
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