From cutting back on hanging flower baskets to eliminating vacant staff positions, Victoria city councilors will examine a number of budget cutting measures this week.
This is after council asked staff to sharpen their pencils in the face of a potential 12% property tax hike next year.
Several options are presented in the report. At one end of the scale is a 7% tax hike with cuts amounting to $3.31-million. At the more extreme end is a 4% tax hike with deeper cuts amounting to over $14-million dollars spread over 2025 and 2026.
The police budget is not included in the report or in these rates.
Option 1 has a maximum tax increase of 7% and the smallest amount of cutting. Some measures suggested are increasing recreation fees, eliminating new positions that have not yet been hired, reducing some contracted services, and reducing some grant spending.
Option 2 sees a max tax increase of 6% and includes all the Option 1 measures but adds things like reduced Canada Day celebrations and scaling back free community events such as RAP Summer Nights (among other moves).
Options 3 gets to a 5% max tax increase by adding even more cuts. Examples include eliminating vacant staff positions, reducing the amount of security at city hall and the parks where overnight camping is allowed, scaling back multi-modal corridor treatments and finishes, and deferring beach access projects. Option 3 also places a number of 2026 grants on the chopping block, including $242,000 to the South Island Prosperity Partnership, $100,000 to the Alliance to End Homelessness, $152,000 for My Great Neighbourhood Grants, $20,000 to Theatre SKAM, and $10,000 for the Butler Book Prize and Children’s Book Prize.
Option 3 is also where the 2026 hanging flower basket program could see its budget cut in half and the focus placed on the main tourist areas. Another 2026 move is scaling back the rollout of electric vehicle charging stations.
In Option 4, with a max property tax increase of 4%, more cuts are piled on. Possibilities include further reduction to climate initiatives like EV charging stations and multi-modal corridors. In 2026, the Youth Bus Pass program could be examined with staff suggesting they explore the "possibility of funding this program through CRD’s new transportation service."
Those are only some of the items in a longer list of potential cuts.
Council will discuss the report at Thursday's Committee of the Whole meeting.