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Funding the infrastructure deficit will cost millions

I recommend that a competent mathematician assess the effect of the 1.5 per cent annual increase in the mill rate proposed by the City

I recommend that a competent mathematician assess the effect of the 1.5 per cent annual increase in the mill rate proposed by the City of Victoria over the next 20 years.

I have attempted this with web-based compounding formulae and my preliminary results indicate that property taxes will increase by about 35 per cent over the next 20 years, with no allowances for changes in any other operating components of the city’s budget, or any changes in the assessed value of properties.

I don’t believe the proposed annual increase in the mill rate to cover the infrastructure deficit is sustainable, without a taxpayer revolt.

Even retired seniors lucky enough to have pensions indexed for inflation at about two per cent per year will not be able to keep up with the proposed rate of inflation in property taxes. They could lose their homes, or at the very least, be forced into making unhealthy adjustments to their lifestyles.

Howard Willis

Victoria