Esquimalt has seen several years of high property tax increases. The 2026 budget was particularly difficult. Increases at this level are not sustainable and cannot become normal.
At the same time, we need to be honest about what is driving them. A recent Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce review called Esquimalt the region’s most disciplined spender and found it was the only municipality reviewed whose spending growth was below its inflation benchmark.
That does not mean every dollar is well spent, or that there is nothing to cut. It does mean we should be cautious about promises that a few easy savings will solve the problem.
The biggest pressures on Esquimalt’s budget are not easy to avoid: policing and fire costs, aging roads and underground infrastructure, and the need to rebuild reserves after years of not putting enough aside. In 2026, policing alone increased almost 10 per cent, while Council also significantly increased infrastructure contributions.
Early in the next term, I want Council to conduct a detailed review of municipal services, spending and service levels. We should look for meaningful savings, question what we are doing, and be willing to stop or change things that are not delivering enough value.
Careful spending is only part of the answer. We also need a long-term plan for infrastructure and better use of other sources of revenue so property taxes are not always the only answer when costs increase.
I looked closely at what is driving the 2026 increase in three earlier posts:
My approach for the next term has five parts.
Close the infrastructure gap
Esquimalt has aging roads, underground pipes, buildings and recreation facilities. We have not historically put aside enough to maintain and replace them.
Postponing this work may reduce taxes for one year, but it does not make the cost disappear. I want to develop a realistic plan to communicate how we’re going to close the infrastructure gap, and clearly show how we’re going to bring annual tax increases closer to inflation over time.
Review municipal spending
I believe Council should conduct a detailed review of municipal services, spending and service levels early in the new term. The review should focus on the major costs driving the budget, not just small cuts that make little difference to the final tax bill.
We must also be careful about taking on new responsibilities without the funding to pay for them, particularly when the Province downloads new requirements onto municipalities.
Make budgets clearer
Council and residents should be able to see and understand what is changing year to year in our budgets, where costs are increasing and what effect major decisions will have on taxes.
I have pushed for better budget information throughout this term, and the new budget book is an improvement. More work is needed. Future budgets should provide clear year-to-year comparisons, explain staffing and service changes, and include realistic multi-year projections.
Work better as a region
Policing is Esquimalt’s largest operating expense. Since the Province amalgamated our police department with Victoria’s in 2003, Esquimalt has been the only neighbouring municipality contributing directly to the cost of policing downtown Victoria.
The downtown core serves the whole region, and its policing costs should be shared more fairly. I will continue to press for regional policing and look carefully at other services that could be delivered more effectively with our neighbours.
At the same time, regional delivery is not automatically better or cheaper. There must be a clear benefit for Esquimalt residents.
Make development contribute fairly
New housing is needed, but growth also creates demand for roads, pipes, parks and recreation facilities.
Unlike every other growing municipality in the region, Esquimalt does not have a program to require new development to contribute to these capital costs. I have pushed for the Township to reconsider its decision not to establish Development Cost Charges (DCCs) and to consider Amenity Cost Charges (ACCs). New development should make a fair and predictable contribution to the infrastructure and facilities needed to support it.
These charges must be set carefully so as not to render new housing even more unaffordable. DCCs and ACCs will not solve our existing infrastructure gap. But without them, almost all of the cost of growth falls on existing taxpayers.
What responsible finances means to me
While Council needs to be focused on keeping taxes affordable to residents, spending has to be viewed in terms of the benefits it provides to Esquimalt residents. If proposed taxes are too high, Council needs to articulate what we are prepared to cut, delay or pay for another way.
Responsible financial management means understanding what things cost, setting priorities, finding meaningful savings, making sure growth contributes fairly and planning far enough ahead that residents are not repeatedly surprised by large increases.
We cannot keep every existing service, add new ones, repair decades of aging infrastructure and promise permanently low tax increases at the same time. Council needs to be honest about those choices.
My commitment is to make those decisions carefully, explain them clearly and work toward tax increases that are sustainable and that residents can reasonably afford.