Cranbrook’s proposed 2023 budget shows a tax increase of 5.87 per cent.
Mayor Wayne Price said he was pleased to see it that low and thought it would be a lot worse.
“I was extremely happy to get it under eight per cent. I really didn’t think staff would get us under eight per cent, so I’m extremely happy with our finance department,” he said.
He says inflation drove up the cost of city projects and is responsible for most of the tax hike.
“Basically, that’s just the cost of doing business this year. You’ve seen across the board anywhere from five per cent increases right up to 17 per cent increases in communities across the province,” he added.
“We’re on an industrial scale and our costs are on an industrial level. We’re seeing 30-40 per cent increases in equipment prices rising and certainly in our construction costs. That really drove the price of the budget up.”
The city is still collecting feedback on the proposed budget which can be found here.
Feedback will be accepted until Mar. 24 and then be discussed during the Mar. 27 council meeting.