Some Nanoose Bay residents are upset their tax bill for 2024 will be one of the highest in the Regional District of Nanaimo.
Home and property owners in Electoral Area E (Nanoose Bay) want to know why they face a 17.5 per cent property tax increase in 2024. The Northwest Nanoose Bay Residents Association addressed the issue with Area E director Bob Rogers, who explained that the increases depend on the RDN services Nanoose Bay residents use.
For a home appraised at $1,302,858, the regional district’s tax requisition will go up by $173 this year, to $1,162 from $990 in 2023.
The RDN provides close to 110 services to residents in the region that include water, waste water, solid waste, transit parks and recreation and more.
Neil Watson, secretary of the residents association, also wrote to RDN board chairperson Vanessa Craig also seeking answers, and was pointed to a list of itemized information of where the increase are happening in the budget.
Craig also confirmed Rogers’s explanation that the increases are based on the service levels being provided by the regional district to the Nanoose Bay area.
READ MORE: RDN taxpayers see requisition rise 13.5 per cent for 2024
The NNRA wanted to know the items in the Area E 2024 proposed budget that spiked by six per cent or more.
Among the significant hikes is the tax requisition for recreation and parks services. Area E’s share will go up by 28 per cent, to $452,323 this year from $335,515 in 2023.
Others services that residents will be paying more for include water, Nanoose Bay Peninsula water service area (14 per cent); animal control for Area E, G, H (45 per cent); and Nanoose Bay volunteer fire service for Area E, G, F (19 per cent).
Watson indicated in his letter to the RDN chairperson that his group’s correnspondence should also be received as a formal opposition to the budget proposal for their area.
The 2024 property taxes are the top priority of the NNRA’s board of directors, the group indicated. A committee has been formed to lead the discussion, establish the residents association’s position, and work with their area director on the topic.