Property taxes are understandably one of the biggest concerns I hear from residents.
People are dealing with higher costs almost everywhere—from groceries and housing to insurance and utilities—and municipal taxes are part of that household budget. When someone asks me, “Why have Courtenay’s taxes increased so much?”, they deserve more than a simple answer.
Municipal budgets are complicated, but the basic challenge is straightforward: the City must continue providing essential services while maintaining and replacing infrastructure, responding to growth, improving public safety and dealing with costs that have increased significantly.
The question is not simply how much we spend. It is how we make responsible decisions about what needs to be done now, what can wait, and what delaying something may ultimately cost taxpayers.
Much of what a municipality does is required
One of the realities of municipal government is that much of our work is not optional. The City is responsible for essential infrastructure and services that residents depend on every day, including roads, water and sewer systems, fire protection, policing, bylaw enforcement, parks, public facilities and development services.
As Courtenay grows, many of those services also have to serve more people. That creates pressure on municipal budgets even before we begin considering new projects or additional services.
Public safety is a significant expense
Protective services—including RCMP, fire protection and bylaw enforcement—represent one of the City's largest areas of expenditure.
The 2026 budget for RCMP services alone is approximately $9.611 million, with the average cost of an RCMP member estimated at approximately $278,000.
Those are significant numbers. At the same time, residents expect appropriate police resources when they call for assistance, visible enforcement in the community and effective responses to public safety concerns.
We have also increased Courtenay's bylaw officer complement from one officer to five and expanded coverage to seven days a week.
The challenge for Council is determining the appropriate level of service while recognizing that every additional position and service ultimately becomes part of the municipal budget.
Infrastructure does not stop ageing
Another major pressure on municipal finances is infrastructure.
Roads, bridges, pipes, buildings and other public assets eventually need to be repaired or replaced. Ignoring that reality does not eliminate the cost; it usually makes the eventual cost higher.
That is why I strongly support asset management.
Asset management means understanding what infrastructure we own, its condition, how long it is expected to last and what it will cost to maintain or replace. It allows municipalities to plan for future expenses rather than simply react when something fails.
Maintenance is usually cheaper than failure
A simple example is a pothole. In 2025, Courtenay repaired more than 650 potholes while maintaining hundreds of kilometres of roads and underground infrastructure.
Nobody gets particularly excited about fixing potholes or replacing underground pipes, but maintaining infrastructure before it fails is generally far less expensive than dealing with an emergency.
The same principle applies to major infrastructure. The deterioration of the 5th Street Bridge demonstrated why municipalities cannot indefinitely postpone maintenance and replacement decisions. Eventually, infrastructure reaches a point where doing nothing is no longer an option.
Good fiscal management therefore does not mean avoiding every expenditure. Sometimes investing in maintenance today prevents taxpayers from facing a much larger bill tomorrow.
Why projects appear in budgets before they are built
Municipal budgeting can also create confusion because residents sometimes see a large project listed in a financial plan and understandably assume Council has committed to spending that money immediately.
That is not necessarily the case.
Including a project in a municipal budget is often an important part of preparing for future funding opportunities. Senior governments regularly offer infrastructure grants, but municipalities need to have projects identified, planned and ready when those opportunities appear.
If we wait until a grant program opens before beginning the planning process, we may miss the opportunity entirely.
Putting a project into the financial plan allows staff and Council to understand the potential cost and begin looking for partnerships and funding. It does not mean that the entire project will automatically be funded by Courtenay taxpayers.
Grants can dramatically reduce local costs
One of the most important responsibilities of municipal leadership is advocating for outside funding.
The Comox Valley's water treatment project is a good example of why that matters. The project ultimately cost approximately $129 million.
Through collaboration involving K’ómoks First Nation, local governments and advocacy with provincial and federal representatives, approximately $62.5 million in senior-government funding was secured.
Without that funding, the local cost would have been substantially higher.
The same principle applies to other infrastructure projects. We should plan for what our community will need while aggressively pursuing grants and partnerships that reduce the amount local taxpayers have to contribute.
Delaying projects can also be expensive
One of the hardest parts of municipal budgeting is deciding when to proceed with a project. Waiting can sometimes make sense, but waiting also carries financial risks.
Construction, labour and material costs can increase while the infrastructure itself continues to deteriorate. As a result, a project that appears expensive today may be significantly more expensive ten years from now.
Water meters provide a useful example. The estimated cost of implementing water meters was approximately $15 million in 2015. The current estimate is closer to $30 million.
That does not automatically mean every project should proceed immediately. It does demonstrate that delaying a necessary project is not the same thing as eliminating its cost. In some cases, delay simply transfers a larger bill to future taxpayers.
Planning for major projects
Courtenay and the wider Comox Valley have several significant infrastructure decisions ahead.
One of Courtenay's priorities is a second fire hall in East Courtenay. Earlier concepts placed the potential cost above $23 million. By looking at facilities elsewhere and exploring a more practical approach, the projected budget was reduced to approximately $14 million.
Before major capital projects proceed, there should be a disciplined process that:
- clearly establishes the need;
- examines alternatives;
- learns from comparable projects in other communities;
- identifies opportunities to reduce costs;
- explores potential partnerships;
- pursues available provincial and federal grants; and
- provides Council with the information required to make an informed decision.
The objective is not simply to approve or reject a project based on its initial price. It is to determine what the community needs and find the most responsible way to provide it.
Fiscal responsibility is about value, not simply spending less
There is sometimes an assumption that fiscal responsibility means always choosing the lowest-cost option. I don't believe that is the right definition.
The cheapest decision today can become the most expensive decision over the long term.
Fiscal responsibility requires considering the full cost and lifespan of municipal decisions. That includes maintaining infrastructure before it fails, ensuring services remain sustainable, pursuing grants and partnerships before relying on local taxpayers, questioning project costs, examining alternatives and being prepared to defer projects when the need or value does not justify the expense.
The objective should always be obtaining the best long-term value for taxpayers.
Balancing needs and costs
Courtenay will continue to grow, and that growth will create both opportunities and pressures. The City needs infrastructure capable of supporting that growth, including safe roads and bridges, reliable water and sewer systems, and appropriate fire, policing and bylaw services.
At the same time, residents cannot absorb unlimited increases in taxation.
Those realities have to be balanced. There will always be more projects that could be completed than there is money available to complete them.
Council's responsibility is to establish priorities, understand the long-term consequences of those decisions and make sure taxpayers receive good value for the money being spent.
Looking ahead
Several major decisions are approaching that will require careful financial planning, including the East Courtenay fire hall, a future RCMP detachment and regional infrastructure investments.
Those decisions will affect taxpayers for many years.
My approach is to make sure we understand the need, plan ahead, look for efficiencies and partnerships, and advocate for every reasonable source of provincial and federal funding before placing additional costs on local taxpayers.
Municipal government cannot eliminate every cost increase. But we can make sure decisions are transparent, projects are properly planned, and investments are considered over their entire lifespan rather than simply their immediate price tag.
That is what fiscal responsibility means to me: planning ahead, maintaining the infrastructure we already own, pursuing outside funding, controlling costs where possible, and making decisions based on the long-term interests of the community and the taxpayers who ultimately pay the bill.
Sources & Further Reading