Residential property taxes will jump 3.49% this year in Coquitlam.
But a few councillors say they don't like the way city hall is handling its revenue from taxpayers.
On Monday, council gave three readings to the city's annual tax rate bylaw, which must be passed by the provincial deadline of May 15.
The rise means owners of a home with the statistically average assessed value of $539,000 will pay about $2,700 in combined municipal and utility fees.
Business property owners will see a 2.74% hike over last year's bill.
Taxes are due in Coquitlam on July 4.
Last year, after registering a budget surplus from expenditures, city managers tucked away $3.4 million for the infrastructure reserve to pay for one-time capital expenditures such as repair of the leaky roof at the Coquitlam Public Library's Poirier branch.
Coun. Lou Sekora said that savings should have gone to lower the tax rate this year. "We're known in the community as a tax-and-spend council," he said before he and Coun. Barrie Lynch voted against the tax increase.
Coun. Neal Nicholson, an accountant, countered the $3.4 million saving is "a result a very careful budgeting coming into 2010 and hard, hard work by all our staff to keep costs down and in control."
The surplus transfer to the infrastructure account, he continued, is a policy "that has been in place for many years, during most of which Coun. Sekora was right here on council."
Lynch said he was uncomfortable with the city's fiscal management as it borrows internally and externally --- and takes money from staff vacancy savings - to pay for capital projects and to keep taxes low.
"I'm concerned that we're making these type of decisions based on the fact that we're concerned about what the impact will be on people who are continuing to run for [political] office," Lynch said.
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Other Coquitlam news:
THE LIGHT STUFF
The road between Coquitlam city hall and Lafarge Lake will be bathed in coloured lights this Christmas season as the city kicks off its first winter festival.
On Monday, city council voted to spend nearly $80,000 on the signature event, which replaces Light the Lake - a Douglas College Foundation fundraiser - and, for security purposes, on permanent seasonal lighting at Buchanan Square (at the rear of city hall). Councillors Sekora and Doug Macdonell opposed the project.
At last week's recreation committee meeting, Coun. Selina Robinson urged city staff to work with local service groups for the winter fest. But Wendy Wiederick, Coquitlam's community services manager, said representatives with the festival planners' committee were approached earlier this year and showed no interest. "The outreach has been extensive," she said.
Should the winter fest be successful, the city plans to make the event bigger, possibly extending the light display to High Street and Coquitlam Centre mall.
