Doug McCallum's proposed Surrey property tax increase freeze is misleading, critics say

If elected, Doug McCallum pledged to freeze property tax increases to 2.9 per cent per year for four years.

Incumbent Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum has pledged to maintain property tax hikes at 2.9 per cent annually for four years — a campaign promise critics say is misleading because Surrey taxpayers are paying through the nose through other taxes. 

B.C.’s fastest-growing municipality, under McCallum’s Safe Surrey Coalition majority, has managed to keep annual property rate increases to 2.9 per cent since 2018, about half the recent rate hikes of other Metro Vancouver cities like Vancouver.

And, if elected, McCallum pledged to freeze that rate of increase for his next term.

“We did the budgets out, and we want to keep our taxes in our city in the bottom third of all of the cities in Metro Vancouver,” he said on Wednesday. “We’ve factored in this year that we needed to give a break to our residents. The inflation rate is probably running six to seven per cent, and we just felt with all the increased costs on our residents, we needed to give them a break from that inflation.”

Canada’s inflation rate soared to eight per cent in June, but has since cooled to about five per cent. The Bank of Canada expects it to recede to between two and three per cent in 2023.

Mayoral rivals pointed out that Surrey’s taxpayers are on the hook for other taxes, which have risen under McCallum’s tenure, specifically the capital parcel tax that tripled from $100 to $300 per parcel after a council vote in December 2020. That means a homeowner with a $2,000 property tax bill saw a 10 per cent increase of $200, plus that year’s 2.9 per cent increase.

McCallum said he would also freeze the capital parcel tax at $300 per year for the next four years.

That’s no consolation, said Coun. Brenda Locke, who is running for mayor with Surrey Connect. The parcel tax is disproportionate, punitive and penalizes lower-income people, she said.

“It’s absolutely a terrible tax. Everybody, whether you own a $10 million house or a $500,000 condo, is paying a flat tax. It’s not equitable.”

Gordie Hogg, mayoral candidate for Surrey First, said McCallum’s promise to keep tax hikes to 2.9 per cent is misleading.

“It’s a reign of deception,” he said. “He said 2.9 per cent, and the reality is every property owner’s prices went up dramatically.”

Despite paying higher taxes, some city services have suffered over the past four years, said Hogg, adding the city hasn’t added any bylaw officers or firefighters since 2018.

Locke said the 2.9 per cent tax rate promise doesn’t tell the whole story.

“What I’d like to know is, what service is he going to cut? It is not fiscally responsible for him to say this when, on the other hand, he has already handed out literally millions-of-dollars in gifts in this election campaign.”

Locke said the police transition from the RCMP to a municipal force — another hot-button issue during the campaign — is an “absolute black hole for money” that’s going to cost Surrey residents more.

McCallum has also promised large infrastructure projects in the election campaign, including two swimming pools that cost $100 million each, according to city figures, said Locke.

McCallum insists he can keep city expenses within the 2.9 per cent annual increase without cuts to existing services.

“In fact, we’re expanding everything,” he said, including hiring more firefighters and staff.

Locke said she’s concerned about Surrey’s debt load, which has ballooned over the last four years. In 2018, Surrey owed the municipal finance authority $150 million. Today, that debt sits at $308 million, she said.

“(McCallum’s) borrowed so much money, it’s really concerning to me. We have to take stock of our financial position, and we have to take it fast.”

chchan@postmedia.com

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