Vancouver mayor faces heat over park board plans — but could be burned by a 5.5% property tax hike

As Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim and his majority ABC council tried to strengthen their argument to eliminate the city's elected park board this week, a draft 2025 budget was also published that calls for a 5.5 per cent property tax increase in the new year.

It would mean an extra $211 for the median single-family home and an extra $403 for the median business property.

Council will begin deliberations over the proposed $2.4 billion budget on Dec. 3 and must also balance an ask from the police board for an extra $23 million.

The numbers game comes at the same time as Sim is touting a new transition report that shows transferring the governance of the city's 256 parks to city council and phasing out the 136-year old Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation would save $7 million per year for the next 10 years, make more parkland permanent and improve efficiency.

At a news conference Thursday, Sim was defiant over the move, which some people, including park board commissioners and community association leaders, have called undemocratic.

"Look, this wasn't easy," said Sim. "Other mayors have wanted to do this for 40 years and they didn't because they didn't have the political support at the time or the political will.

"We are literally putting ourselves on the line, getting a bunch of heat on this because we care about the parks."

But Sim might face more heat over the budget.

A 5.5 per cent increase for 2025 would follow increases of 7.5 per cent in 2024 and 10.7 per cent in 2023.

Previous mayor Kennedy Stewart, who Sim criticized for bloated budgets, shepherded increases of 6.35 per cent in 2022, five per cent in 2021 and seven per cent in 2020.

One per cent of the property tax increase proposed for 2025 is intended "to address the historical deficit in funding for infrastructure renewal," said the draft budget.

Coun. Pete Fry with the Vancouver Green Party said the police's ask for its portion of the budget — worth 19 per cent of total spending — would "add a pretty significant wrinkle."

"We're two years into Ken Sim's mandate and he's already surpassed what Kennedy Stewart did in his term," said Fry.

"So I think it's going to put some pressure on the mayor and his party to deliver and still support the police in the way that they feel comfortable." 

Natural-gas heating vote

Sim and his ABC party, whose councillors make up seven of the 10 sitting in city hall, will first have their unity tested next week when they will be called to vote on final bylaw changes that would allow natural-gas heating and hot water in new home builds.

Council previously voted 6-5 in favour of the change, with the three opposition councillors and two ABC councillors voting against it.

Proponents say the move will help spur more home construction in the city, but critics say it sets the city up to fail on its climate goals.

"Allowing natural gas for space heating and hot water provides applicants with more choice over fuel source but is not expected to improve affordability or accelerate housing approvals when compared to the low-carbon option," said the staff report that councillors will vote on Tuesday.

Byelection barometer

Testing the public barometer on ABC will be a byelection to replace opposition Coun. Christine Boyle, which is expected in the new year. 

Boyle was elected to the provincial legislature in October and is currently on unpaid leave from the city.

Political watchers say the byelection could either signal an endorsement of ABC's direction by adding another councillor to its majority, or show that voters want to temper ABC governance's with another opposition voice.