As the Township of Esquimalt begins their budget process, the 2026 Draft Financial Plan projects a 13% increase to property taxes this year.
The revenue earned from property taxes makes up around 51% of the Township’s revenue streams, but due to increasing expenditures, Esquimalt homeowners will have to pay more this year in order to balance the budget.
According to the draft budget, one key cost driver which will impact the Township’s books is an increased VicPD budget of nearly 10%, which accounts for around 3% of the proposed tax increase.
Esquimalt’s contribution to the VicPD budget already accounts for 21% of the Township’s total budget.
Over the past 10 years, the VicPD budget has increased dramatically and has drawn Township resources from other potential services and programs, as seen below:
Furthermore, employee wages, a call for additional staff and infrastructure costs are also contributing to the increase in property tax.
In 2023, property taxes were increased by 6.3%, followed by 7.7% in 2024 and 9.9% in 2025.
The 2026 Draft Financial Plan is being presented to Esquimalt’s town council on Monday, January 12th.
Following this meeting, council will meet again on February 2nd to review the budget, on March 9th to review Greater Victoria Public Library’s marginal proposed increase of 0.22%, on April 13th to discuss the tax rate and finally, on May 4th to adopt the budget.
