The CRD has approved a preliminary budget for 2017 that carries some heavy property tax increases, but the chair of the CRD board says it's important to understand the context.
The financial plan calls for property tax hikes as high as 16-per cent in Esquimalt and 14-per cent in Langford and Colwood, and as low as one-per cent in Oak Bay and three-per cent in Saanich and Victoria.
Board chair Barb Desjardins says the numbers vary so greatly because they depend on how each respective municipality has decided to pay for its share of the region's sewage treatment project.
"Some municipalities like Victoria, Saanich, and I believe Oak Bay do the sewage costs through a utility. So their increases will not be seen on a CRD requisition, but will come to people through their municipal tax bill."
The plan calls for an overall operating budget of $221-million dollars, an eight-per cent increase over 2016.
The capital budget is up 27-per cent year-over-year, to $132-million dollars. Desjardins says that's primarily due to a number of pending infrastructure projects, like the new 911 call centre, the expansion of the E&N Rail Trail, and the sewage treatment project.