Cortes Island Referenda

Show Us The Numbers


As the date for voting on our two local referenda approaches (October 26th, mark your calendars!), we find ourselves revisiting the hall tax service in particular. Some voters find it harder to understand than the First Responders bylaw.

One question I've heard asked is "Surely if SRD collected a mil rate of 0.2405 [as proposed in bylaw text] on all the properties on Cortes, it would be way more than the $80,000 target. Why is the mil so high?"

Another is, "Hey! we were told that the average property would pay about $85/year and now SRD is giving us numbers like $120/year in their table online. What's going on?"

So let's take a trip back down memory lane ...

When the collection method being discussed was parcel tax, the estimated parcel tax assessment was about $85/year. There are slightly over 1000 defined parcels on Cortes; but a subset of these are exempt from taxation. That's why SRD found that their $80,000 target required a parcel rate of $85/year.

Now that SRD has settled on mil rate, how do the numbers stack up? The total assessable value of Cortes properties is $373,643,501. If this aggregate value were assessed at the proposed mil rate of .2405, almost $90,000 per year would be raised. But remember what we noted above: some parcels are exempt from taxation. SRD based their mil on what was actually collectable.

The average Cortes property value is $325,000. At a mil rate of .2405, this average property would be assessed $78.16. This is less than the previously proposed parcel rate. An unimproved bare lot worth $120K would be assessed at $28.86/year, which is a lot less.

For an above-average property of $500,000 the new mil rate would result in an assessment of $119.23/year. A very high-end home worth $1M would be assessed at twice that amount or $238.46/year. To find your assessment amount, just divide your assessed value by 1000 and multiply by $0.2405.

SRD's numbers also include a small overhead percentage which pays for record keeping and collection.

Some people have also asked -- with trepidation -- "What's to prevent this assessment from growing hugely? What if the Community Halls suddenly double their demands?" Others want to know how they can feel sure the collected funds are being spent properly, for the authorized purposes.

The first question is easily answered. SRD's bylaw language provides for the hall support service assessment to be adjusted upwards (if necessary to keep pace with inflation) by no more than 5 percent annually, to a limit of 25% above the original amount. Any increase beyond that would require a revision to the bylaw language and re-approval by the electorate. So the amount being collected cannot increase by more than those limits, unless a new public process is initiated.

The second question is also answered by SRD's standard practises. When a community service is supported by an SRD-administered service, the funded organisation(s) have to present SRD annually with an account of their expenditures and a projected budget for the following year. SRD reviews those financial records to make sure that tax revenues are not being inappropriately spent. This review is part of the approval process for the next year's budget.

For some more questions and answers about the proposed hall tax service, you can read and listen to the coverage of SRD's community consultation meeting in Spring 2019 here: SRD Community Consultation Meeting June 6th


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De Clarke
Cortes Island BC
The opinions expressed in this page are my own, and should not be imputed to any other persons unless they expressly endorse them in public. They do not reflect the views or position of any entity or person other than myself.