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SAANICHNEWS Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Watch for breaking news at www.saanichnews.com
Property tax going up Average homeowner to pay $93 more as Saanich council approves 4% hike Daniel Palmer News staff
Don Denton/Black Press
Broad strokes St. Michaels University School Grade 10 students Valerie Swanstone, left, Sonia Sun and Ariel Zhu decorate utility poles along Fernwood Road as part of a community service day on April 24.
Doggie dos and don’ts in parks kicks in May 1
As the weather warms up and more people bring their dogs to Saanich parks and beaches, Saanich Pound is reminding pet owners of a few restrictions in place from May 1 to August 31. During these months, dogs will be prohibited completely
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from the public beach at Cadboro-Gyro Park after 9 a.m.; Cordova Bay beach; Whitehead Park (located at north end of Prospect Lake); and Mount Douglas Park beach and some areas of the park. There are also year-round leash restrictions on the
Saanich homeowners with an assessment around $600,000 will see a $94 hike in property taxes after council approved the 2015 budget last week. The $244-million budget includes $136 million for operating expenses, $54 million for capital spending and $54 million for sewer and water services A hotly debated decision of the April 21 vote centred around a $200,000 surplus from 2014. Council voted 5-4 to add the cash to its $5.6-million “accumulated surplus” fund – used for emergencies such as natural disaster response – rather than offset the residential property tax increase. “It would have lowered the rate increase from 4.23 per cent to 3.99 per cent,” said Mayor Richard Atwell. “I would have liked to have seen it used to reduce taxes.” Saanich’s residential tax
perimeter trails at Cedar Hill Golf Course and Rithet’s Bog, and within 10 metres of playgrounds and on all public school grounds. Year-round dog bans apply to Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary, Quick’s Bottom Park, the conservation area of Rithet’s
increase is nearly double that of the City of Victoria’s proposed 2.2-per-cent increase. Victoria, however, benefitted from a boom in construction in 2014, which led in part to its $4.7-million surplus. Saanich Director of Finance Valla Tinney stressed early in the budgeting process that sluggish new development in 2014 would lead to more reliance on existing taxpayers this year. Coun. Dean Murdock, who voted with the minority to use the surplus for tax relief, said while there’s wisdom in saving for emergency expenses, he was disappointed with council’s decision. “Putting the money into a savings account when it could have been used to lighten the load on homeowners and lower the percentage increase in what’s already acknowledged as a slow growth year just didn’t add up,” Murdock said.
Bog and within 50 metres of King’s Pond at Cedar Hill Park. Dogs are also prohibited from any fenced baseball field from March 1 to October 31, and from artificial turf sports fields. Pound officials point out
PlEASE SEE: Police budget, Page A18
that only four out of Saanich’s 165 parks prohibit dogs from May to August. To contact Saanich Pound with any questions, call 250475-4321 or visit saanich.ca/ parkrec/parks/parks/dog. html. editor@saanichnews.com
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