Vancouver budget approved, property taxes rising 7.5%

Good morning,

Imagine you worked with your partner. One partner decides they want to end the relationship that night. Then you had to return to the office the next day and are expected to continue working.

That’s the best example I can think of when it comes to the Park Board’s current situation. ABC councillors, who were recently on the same side, are now on opposite sides. It certainly poses some challenges! 

We’ve got a breakdown of the city’s operating budget that just passed, and a dismissed complaint about Vancouver police violating journalist rights which may be less dismissed than the police may have hoped for.

Let’s get to it!

— Geoff Sharpe, Vancity Lookout editor

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WEATHER

Wednesday: 7 🌡️ 3 | 🌧️

Thursday: 6 🌡️ 2 | 🌧️

Friday: 8 🌡️ 4 | ☁️

CITY COUNCIL

City budget passes with little changes

What happened: On Tuesday afternoon, council passed the 2024 budget that includes a 7.5 percent property tax hike, along with $2.15 billion in operational spending. The lower-than-expected tax increase passed by a vote of 8-3, with all ABC councillors voting in favour, and the three other members, Coun. Adrianne Carr, Christine Boyle and Pete Fry voted against it, according to CBC.

• The tax increase was half a percent lower than what city staff had recommended in the draft report, according to Vancouver is Awesome. 

The numbers: The increase represents $260 more for a homeowner with a property assessed at $2.1 million. For a strata owner of a condo worth $804,000, it’s only $98. As noted by Vancouver is Awesome, this doesn’t include potential hikes for other utility fees, TransLink, Metro Vancouver or other entities. 

Much ado about nothing?: There was a kerfuffle over Mayor Ken Sim’s proposal to reduce the fire department’s budget by $1 million. Fire Chief Karen Fry noted the department already had a 7.7 percent increase in the following year, and the money couldn’t be spent on hiring and would’ve been deferred anyway. 

Much ado about something?: The mayor added an amendment to increase his office budget by $100,000 and the clerk’s budget by $80,000. This provoked the biggest pushback from opposition councillors.

Police budget increase: Coun. Brian Montague, a former police officer, added an amendment to increase the police force budget by $2.1 million more than the draft budget, an increase of 0.5 percent, up from 7.9 percent that was recommended, according to IHeartRadio. This brings the police budget up to $411 million. Opposition councillors voted against it. 

• Councillors unanimously supported an increase of $180,000 for two branches of the Vancouver Public Library to open on Mondays in 2024.

What it means: Nothing was too surprising, with councillors not changing the budget much compared to what was proposed. The tax increase is still the second highest in the last 10 years, the first highest being Sim’s first budget. While the correct thing to do to fund a growing sicty, it does run counter to the message he got elected on. 

• Dig deeper: Six observations from Vancouver’s budget. 

We’ll go deeper into the budget with some other information we couldn’t include in tomorrow’s Insider edition. If you aren’t a member, consider becoming one today and save 40% off your first year until Dec. 31. 

VANCOUVER NUMBERS

🪵 18: The new maximum build height, in storeys, for mass-timber buildings. The current limit is 12 storeys. The changes are expected to be formalized in spring 2024. [Urbanized]

🏠 $971,069: The average price of a home in BC, down 2.9 percent year-to-date. In Greater Vancouver, the price has dropped 6.6 percent to $1,283,004. [CityNews]

🚰 500: The number of litres that leaks from the Kitsilano Pool every minute. The report could put the future of the pool in jeopardy. [Vancouver Sun]

PUBLIC SAFETY

Inquiry launched over police actions during encampment evictions

What happened: Some tough questions will be asked of the Vancouver Police Department, after BC’s Human Rights Commissioner said Tuesday that they were launching an inquiry into how police treated the media during the encampment evictions in the Downtown Eastside, according to the Vancouver Sun. 

Background: Back in April, the police cleared out the large tent encampment that had grown in the Downtown Eastside. The reasoning they gave was the tents posed a fire hazard, with Mayor Ken Sim claiming that they could burn down blocks. 

• As part of the eviction, there were reports that police limited access to journalists in the area. This was documented by The Tyee reporter Jen St. Denis who said she had to wait for police access to the area, and that they were not allowed to cross the barricade.

The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner told the police board that it appeared the police had set up an exclusion zone, which the courts have said is a tactic that is unlawful, according to the Tyee. 

Police responded: In November the board dismissed the complaint, and did not interview any journalists about the matter, according to CTV. VPD Chief Adam Palmer claimed that there was a difference between what happened in Fairy Creek, the often-cited example of an exclusion zone, and what happened in Vancouver. 

What it means: An issue that the police had probably hoped would end with their dismissal of the case will now get much more media attention. The fact an outside body is investigating, instead of an internal body related to the police, should shed more light on exactly what happened. Maybe this time journalists will be interviewed.

What comes next: According to the BC Human Rights statement, the commissioner will seek to discover the truth about what happened and include a set of recommendations. The inquiry will look at much more information than the Police Board. 

In other news: The Vancouver Police Department will start wearing body cameras in January as part of a pilot project and are conducting virtual town halls on Mondays and Thursdays in anticipation of the pilot, according to CityNews.

DREAM HOME

Today we head over to Mount Pleasant to see what sort of homes they have for sale. 

This one caught my eye. Is this place big? At 665 square feet, it is not. But what it loses in space it makes up for in the fact that it’s got a massive patio, a good-sized kitchen and two bedrooms. 

Going back to the patio, it boasts 300 square feet of space. Hey, you might as well throw up a tent there in the summer and get a third room in the place!

And at this price? Well, this is almost downright affordable. 

House of The Week is a home selected by the Lookout team and is not a paid advertisement. All ads are labeled as such. If you’re a realtor who wishes to feature your home in our newsletter, please contact our sales team.

THE AGENDA

🚗 A crash Monday afternoon near the end of the Stanley Park Causeway caused massive delays along the road. One vehicle was overturned, and two people were transported to the hospital with injuries. The cause is unknown. [CBC]

📈 A new study says grocery companies are ranking in money, to the tune of $6 billion, as our grocery bills continue to climb. Grocery prices have exceeded the rate of inflation since 2021. In BC, grocery prices are expected to rise 5.9 percent in 2024. [CityNews]

🔌 Tesla is building a 120,000-square-foot service facility in Strathcona at 950 Raymur Ave. It will be the largest in Western Canada. In BC, 21 percent of light-duty passenger vehicles that were sold were EVs, which puts BC at number one in Canada. [Business in Vancouver]

🧑‍⚖️ In more news of just how bad the rental market is, a renter took their property manager to court after they evicted him to make room for a live-in caretaker, but then proceeded to relist the unit at a higher price. The company, Plan A, that runs the unit, is considering appealing. [CBC]

🏠 But some good news — sort of — in the rental market in Vancouver is that prices rose by much less than normal in the city, increasing by only 0.7 percent to an average price of $3,171. [Canadian Mortgage Trends]

💰 BC Place will need millions of dollars in upgrades to be ready for the 2026 World Cup. It will be the biggest upgrade since the $514-million retractable roof upgrade. [Business in Vancouver]

🚆 The list of transit hubs that will encompass the transit-oriented development areas with automatic increased density was released last week. The vast majority are located within Metro Vancouver, including 64 SkyTrain stations as well as all future ones. Only 10 standalone bus exchanges in Metro Vancouver will be classified under the rules. [Urbanized]

ARTS

Theatre

The Gateway Theatre’s production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella is a retelling of the tale, and is on from Dec. 14 to 31. [Stir]

Carousel Theatre is featuring Snow White, with a unique take that’s both comedic, along with live music accompaniment. [Stir]

Music

If you’re in the mood for Christmas music, the Vancouver Welsh Men’s Choir will be performing on Dec. 16 at Shaughnessy Heights United Church. 

Movies 

Over at Cinematheque, they’re showing a series of movies from acclaimed film director Andrei Tarkovsky, and Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven.

The Rio is featuring the acclaimed Fallen Leaves, and the ever-popular Elf. 

Art

The Vancouver Art Gallery is featuring 25 works from the gallery’s Emily Carr Collection, and Trinidadian-Canadian artist Denyse Theomasos with over 60 of her paintings and works of art. 

Not so much art, but still worth mentioning, Letterkenny is touring around Canada. While they aren’t coming to Canada, you can catch them at Coquitlam on Mar. 22. [Straight]

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• A new photography series explores the positive aspects of the Downtown Eastside. [Globe and Mail]

• Need a new Christmas ornament? A local artist is selling Vancouver Specials, and they’re pretty accurate! [Vancouver Sun]

• Monster trucks will be back at Pacific Coliseum in March. [Vancouver is Awesome]

• Vote for the 2024 Power 50, ranking the most impactful changemakers in the city. [Vancouver Magazine]

• Reddit users shared what improved in Vancouver in 2023. Topping the list was drinking on beaches, supply chain issues, the Canucks and anti-Airbnb legislation. [Reddit]

• Want to have your announcement featured? Learn how here.

GAME TIME

Congrats to everyone who correctly guessed yesterday’s trivia question. The answer was 250,000 new homes the province expects to create from their policies. 

Today’s Vancouver Guesser is a tricky one. Can you guess the road intersection? Reply with your answer and your name to be included in the next newsletter.