Burnaby resident Tessy Chalissery wants a cap on property taxes, as she says working people can’t afford to pay any increases as the cost of living continues to rise.
Chalissery presented to the city’s financial management committee Sept. 12 as a representative of the “struggling homeowners of Burnaby.”
She said her property taxes have increased from $6,195 in 2018 to more than $10,000 this year.
“We are working people,” she said, “We’re struggling already – everything increased in price, as you all know, and we cannot afford to pay this increase,” she said.
Chalissery said capping property taxes to the 2024 rate would allow homeowners to age in place, adding inflation is too high to tie taxes to, especially when that increase isn’t borne out in salaries.
But councillors on the committee pushed back.
Coun. Sav Dhaliwal said the property tax pays for a variety of local services, including water, roads, police, fire, parks and recreation centres.
“Local governments provide good service,” Dhaliwal said.
He said the city is “vigilant” around how it spends taxpayer money and noted the costs of providing services and wages for staff are also going up, so capping the tax would mean fewer services provided.
“I don’t think you’re promoting service cutbacks,” he said.
Dhaliwal said only about half of the property tax collected goes to the city, which he said amounts to “less than probably $15 a day.”
Coun. Alison Gu agreed, adding the city collects taxes on behalf of TransLink, the school board and Metro Vancouver Regional District.
She said the city also experiences inflation and rising costs.
“As a municipal government, we also have those same costs. We have to be able to provide services; we have to be able to pay our staff, and those are all increasing,” Gu said.
She said property taxes are also reflective of the home’s worth as determined by BC Assessment, so the tax reflects Chalissery’s $3.2-million, eight-bedroom, eight-bathroom house built in 2017.
Gu said governments have to address the challenges of both homeowners and renters, who face rents of $2,500 a month for a one-bedroom apartment.
Chalissery said she’s renting part of her house for $1,500 but can’t increase the rent. She said if she could, she would put that toward the property tax.
Chalissery said someone has to do something, as the cost of living creeps upward.
“When the taxes are going up… somebody has to say ‘OK, enough is enough.’”
The City of Burnaby is preparing for budget season this fall, in which staff will draft a budget and take council input.
Public feedback on the financial plan has historically happened in November and December, and council is expected to adopt the 2025 financial plan between January and March of the new year.
Check out this City of Burnaby video on how property taxes are calculated:
