It’s budget season! Each year, the District of Central Saanich seeks residents’ feedback on the draft financial plan and encourages residents to attend Council’s budget meetings.
The draft budget includes the annual budget for the municipality, as well as police and library budget for Council’s consideration. The municipal portion of the budget makes up approximately half of property taxes—the other half is collected for regional agencies.
The District’s 2025 budget invests in infrastructure renewal with minimal impact to taxpayers’ wallets thanks to many years of planning. The $71.6 million budget includes a $27 million capital program. If approved, the budget would see an average home in Central Saanich pay an additional $199 a year, or $17 a month.
Like many local governments, the District is now in an era of replacing much of its infrastructure, which was mostly built in the 1960s to 80s. To protect residents from large replacement costs, the District adopted an Asset Management Plan in 2017 to gradually increase savings for the upcoming work; the plan identified more than $565 million in District-owned assets. A levy on taxes was introduced in 2018 as part of a 15-year plan to boost infrastructure investment (approximately $30 of the annual increase in property taxes for the average home), and water and sewer rates are also being slowly increased to reach sustainable levels.
Draft plan highlights
The 2025 draft budget includes:
- Funding to ensure the continuation of quality core services such as fire, police, transportation infrastructure, building and planning services, bylaw enforcement, sewer and water infrastructure, administration, and more.
- $2.67M in strategic investment in priority areas identified through the District’s Strategic Plan. These projects are funded by grants and through reserves.
- $27 million capital program, funded by reserves and debt, including $8.65 million for the sewer system (funded, in part, by senior levels of government), $2.27 million for the water system, $2.5 million for Keating Flyover related improvements.
- Municipal facility replacement plan (2025-2028) with the project fully funded by reserves (savings for specific types of infrastructure), including land sales, and debt with no anticipated additional increase to property taxes.
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Average home in Central Saanich will pay an additional $199 a year, or $17 a month, a 7.8% tax increase.
How can I get involved?
- Attend Council’s budget meetings. Council meetings are open to the public and held at Central Saanich Municipal Hall, at 1903 Mount Newton Cross Road; meetings are also livestreamed at CentralSaanich.ca/Meetings. If you wish to submit correspondence to Council, it must be submitted prior to 12:00 (noon), the Wednesday before the Regular Council meeting. Correspondence can be submitted virtually by emailing municipal.hall@csaanich.ca or delivered via the front reception. To address your questions directly to Council, there will be an opportunity when the budget bylaws come forward to a Regular Council meeting later in April/May (dates to be confirmed).
- Monday, March 31, 6:30 p.m. (Operations Presentation)
- Monday, April 7, 6:30 p.m. (Capital Presentation and Preliminary What We Heard Report)
- Submit questions or feedback to communications@csaanich.ca or by phoning 250-544-4240 by April 2, 2025.
How will public input be used?
Comments submitted by residents will be presented to Council in a What We Heard report before the budget is adopted.
You are invited to provide feedback on the District’s 2025 Draft Budget by April 2, 2025.
Property tax notices are mailed in late May.