The public was told the mayor’s base pay from Esquimalt will be hiked by 20% to $84,776 after the fall election.

The mayor of the township also automatically sits on the CRD board in a separate role as a director which significantly boosts overall compensation. After all, Esquimalt taxpayers help pay for the salary indirectly through regional requisitions from the CRD.

In 2025, the current mayor was paid $34,538 including expenses by the CRD, according to the annual statement of financial information. But following a recent remuneration review, the next mayor will receive an additional annual stipend of $3,069 to the base pay.

Councillors will also see a pay hike of 13% to $33,910 in November, based on 40% of the mayor’s salary.

In 2025, councillors were paid $31,658 plus expenses, according to the annual statement of financial information.
But the story fails to mention that on top of these pay hikes, mayor and council will receive cost of living adjustments annually for the next several years.

Of particular concern is the methodology used by the consultants in setting pay recommendations. In 2024, eight of the 13 comparators had greater populations,10 of the 13 had greater annual expenses.

So, these communities have budgets and populations in excess of Esquimalt which inflates the pay recommendations.

Its true council is following some of the Union of B.C. Municipalities best practices, although they effectively continue to ratchet up other municipal council salaries.

Esquimalt did not seek any feedback through a citizen committee or resident consultation. Setting aside self-interest for a moment, the validity of the pay recommendations are called into question when public input is not considered in the process.

Why does Esquimalt council bury information on remuneration and expenses on its website? How easy is it for the public to find clear, complete and consolidated information?

Ahead of the fall civic election, frustrated Esquimalt taxpayers will judge if these pay hikes are justified and if there’s sufficient transparency.

The pay hikes may be a hard sell following this year’s overall tax hike of 11.32 %, the highest surge in the entire region. It added an estimated $420 to the average tax bill in 2026.

Instead, the Province declined to authorize one.

In this interview, Trevor Barry, President of Amalgamation Yes, discusses:

• Why the Citizens’ Assembly reached such a strong recommendation
  • Why the Province’s response disappointed many residents
  • Why the upcoming non-binding referendum still matters
  • How one unified municipality could improve regional governance
  • Why voters should continue the conversation by voting YES this October

Whether you support amalgamation or not, this discussion is an important look at the future of local government in Greater Victoria.

After more than a decade of public consultation, petitions, municipal referendums, and a provincially funded Citizens’ Assembly, the Province of British Columbia rejected a request for a binding referendum on Victoria-Saanich amalgamation.

John Treleaven of the Grumpy Taxpayer$ and Colin Nielsen examine the history of amalgamation efforts, the Citizens’ Assembly recommendation, the Province’s response, ongoing Freedom of Information requests, and what these events may mean for local democracy and governance in Greater Victoria.

Topics include:

• The history of amalgamation efforts

• Citizens’ Assembly recommendations

• Provincial decision-making

• Freedom of Information requests

• Municipal governance

• Regional accountability

• The future of local government in Greater Victoria

How would you feel if your boss changed 16 times and the company name changed eight times during the last 25 years?

That’s the unfortunate reality at the municipal affairs department in this province. It’s a reality that does little to help local and regional governments faced with the immense challenges of aging infrastructure and escalating property taxes in Greater Victoria.

For decades, there’s been a revolving door of 16 ministers in this portfolio. Some stay a few months, some leave after a few years, and often inexperienced politicians are appointed as another minister in charge. But, for all intents and purposes, the minister is effectively in charge of the ‘junior’ ministry of municipal affairs.

The local government moniker has been renamed and shuffled around eight times during the last quarter century.

Historically the department has been combined or buried with other responsibilities for housing, community, rural development, sport, aboriginal, long term and home care, women’s services, or cultural development.

For many taxpayers and councils, the constant changes of ministers and regular name changes sends a clear message: local government is not important.

That’s curious when you consider the 53 cities, 48 district municipalities, 14 towns, 46 villages, and 27 regional districts were created by and are answerable to the province.

Does the government need to be reminded that this Ministry oversees vast, crucial responsibilities for taxpayers, such as community infrastructure, zoning, legislation, and local finance? It demands a steady and familiar hand, especially during these trying times.

So, perhaps if the government elevated and viewed municipal affairs as a senior-level, stand-alone portfolio it would go a long way to fulfilling provincial responsibilities.

For how much longer can our provincial leaders’ interest in local government only focus on party political considerations?

It’s very likely a shift from largely disregarding local government would result in improved governance and better value for our municipal tax dollar.

If you thought the residential property tax increase of 9.34% was startling this year, consider there may be hikes of more than 40% before the next elected council finishes their term.

It doesn’t take an accountant to predict that taxpayers are in for a few more body blows.

If initial estimates are any indication, the 2026-2030 Financial Plan for Victoria forecasts municipal tax increases of 13.43% in 2027, 9.77% in 2028, 8.68% in 2029, and 7.5% in 2030. What’s often overlooked is the compounding impact of those increases.

On top of that, residential homeowners will again see a percentage added annually to the tax increase as a result of shifts to reduce the amount business pays. Last year there was a shift of burden in the tax rate of 1.2% and 2.1% in 2026.

These are very preliminary city estimates. They are based on various assumptions such as assessments, inflation, revenue, cost projections and other factors.

Remember, these forecasts exclude other items that comprise your total tax notice. It’s unlikely those taxes collected on behalf of schools and levies collected for five other agencies will decrease.
A case in point, for some unexplained reason this scribe’s new ‘residential school tax’ increased year-over-year by 500%. And that’s not a typo.

There’s clearly resonance in Steve Orcherton’s rant “Truth, truthfulness and property tax notice shock” when he argues that Victoria homeowners deserve the full truth about soaring tax increases.
The new council will be faced with tough choices and require an entirely new and frugal approach to governing to retain quality critical services. The fractured governance model across the region we are forced to endure is unsustainable.

Maybe the only council candidates to elect are accountants who can read a financial statement and demand more fiscal discipline?

-30-

Long after this fall’s municipal election bike lanes will continue to be a passionately debated topic attracting varying and compelling opinions in the media on what seems like a daily basis.

It would be helpful if our municipal luminaries and leaders joined together to conduct a third-party review of the existing bike network across all jurisdictions.

Do we know if bike lanes meet their stated objectives? Is traffic congestion increasing and causing pollution issues? Going forward, are there maintenance and cost issues to resolve? How about a cost-benefit analysis? Can the network be better integrated?

The CRD and its newly created Regional Transportation Service is ideally positioned to reach across the municipal borders, conduct an analysis and work-up a broader perspective.

The service, designed to coordinate regional transportation, trails, and funding allows for an annual requisition of up to $20 million. Only a few hundred residents opposed the CRD funding request so there’s wide acceptance of the need to improve our transportation system.

The increased prevalence of e-bikes, e-mopeds and e-scooters, adds urgency to the task.

Good municipal governance demands that local authorities acknowledge the issues from the perspective of cyclists, pedestrians and drivers. For many supporters, the existing network has considerable merit, but think it’s ‘a good idea ridden too far’ especially in the downtown core area.

It’s believed an independent postmortem would mitigate issues, result in some tweaks and keep more residents in better humour.

Are there any aspiring local politicians that want to pick up the torch in time for GoByBike Week?

Videos

May 21^st – Ryan Windsor Reflects on 13 Years of Leadership in Central Saanich 

https://youtu.be/bCdIWO17Tx8

May 18^th – Karen Harper on Taxes, Efficiency & the Future of Saanich 

https://youtu.be/Z9cZpbx-dfM

May 5^th – Why Greater Victoria Needs More Curious Citizens 

https://youtu.be/-yVqlYF_vQU

May 4^th –  Who Really Pays the Price? Municipal Reality with Mayor John Henderson 

https://youtu.be/E2dm31AJPjg

Articles

May 29^th – The Mayor’s Reconciliation Fundraising Ask 

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7466359023852834816

May 23^rd – ‘Sunshine List’ keeps growing and growing – One-quarter of Central Saanich staff earn $125,000 or more 

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/sunshine-list-keeps-growing-one-quarter-central-saanich-3rprc

May 1^st – LETTER TO THE EDITOR – Your municipal council is the problem 

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7456042754960281600

Every election candidates ask for the endorsement of Grumpy$ and are declined, but this time we have our very own candidate!

“There’s no law saying I can’t recycle the same platform in all 13 municipalities, the CRD and every other agency that pays, so that’s what I’m going to do,” says Ron Jeremiah Grump.

“If you must waste your vote, waste it on me.”

Grump hopes to capitalize on the widespread disaffection among voters without dependable transportation who are waiting for the regional transportation service to improve gridlock on bike paths.

“We are in a vicious cycle. For those of you that ride your bike twice a day, that’s not recycling. Remember, it gets more expensive to buy a tire pump every year, all because of inflation.”

Grump dresses in red from head-to-toe to draw attention to ballooning municipal budgets.

Besides the made-in-China bike-for-all pledge, Grump promises unlimited mocktails from your tap at every household and the creation of a 22-municipality region called Victoriapolis (one more than the Lower Mainland!). AI would free people from the need to work, and an individual mother figure for everyone would help combat feelings of loneliness.

“Name one other candidate that will give you a set of wheels?” he asks. “Name one other candidate that even offers a clearly articulated vision, management experience and political affiliations?”

As an extra incentive for renters – who tend not to bother voting – Grump will give a discount of 50% for selfies taken with him outside the voting stations.

For those with fur babies, a fire hydrant in front of every home and government contracts to anyone who will play fetch with him.

Finally, instead of endless council meetings by endless municipalities, Grump hopes to streamline governance.

“Instead of 100 local politicians, why not elect 1,000 with each serving a week so everyone gets a try? Local politicians will be elected as volunteers and no longer paid, but swear to help out their community instead of themselves. The only non-taxable benefit would be a rubber boot allowance to make it easier to visit constituents.”

There’s Toronto with 3.3 million or so people governed by 25 councillors and a mayor, then it’s high time Dysfunction-by-the-sea tried something different.

Grump argues he will probably change his platform before and during the campaign, and once elected and removed from office.

So, are you ready for change? Grump says he’s the antidote for those suffering from political depression.

Why can’t Langford and Sidney councils bother to follow their own best practices on remuneration that were developed by the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM)?

The next mayor of Langford will see a pay bump of $30,000 or 24% to $124,656, while each councillor will have their compensation increased by $13,600 or 28% to $47,817 a year.

The UBCM council and board remuneration guide recommends reviews should be done at least a year prior to the next general election, not eight months.

As for transparency and communicating with the public, Langford still doesn’t publicly post pay or benefits from city duties or those as a result of their position.

The next mayor of Sidney will see a pay hike of $13,612 or 28% to $61,872, while each councillor will have their pay boosted by $7,328 or 38% to $26,605.

This salary review also wasn’t done at least a year prior to the next general election. The important remuneration bylaw was then adopted despite the absence of one councillor.

The UBCM also recommends a third-party consultant or community task force to recommend pay levels. When staff recommend pay increases for their bosses, it puts them in a conflict of interest situation.

All the compensation mentioned above are for base salaries only and take effect after the next election. Unfortunately, there was no discussion about additional pay received as a result of their position, any taxpayer-paid extended benefits or the council expense policy.

Neither hefty salary increase was discussed as a way to lower the proposed 15.13% property tax increase in Langford and the 12.4% hike now under consideration in Sidney.

Councils shouldn’t wonder why they struggle with public credibility and why some taxpayers are gnarly.

There’s never been greater need for change at municipal governments on the South Island.

The proposed City of Victoria budget at 10.44 % is described by Grumpy Taxpayer$ as ‘unworldly’ when compared to other large BC cities.

In smaller communities, Langford hopes to tame a projected 15.61% tax increase for 2026 over the next several months. Esquimalt council is looking for ways to reduce a proposed 13 per cent property-tax increase to single digits.

There are a number of large civic infrastructure projects planned such as the Crystal Pool in Victoria, the public works yard in Saanich, multiple community buildings in Central Saanich, a Westshore RCMP detachment, and so on. It would be wise for taxpayers to monitor these costly projects.

Water and sewer rates across the region have seen huge hikes to the dismay of homeowners.

You get the picture.

SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE

We are a non-profit, non partisan, citizen’s group advocating for better governance and better value for our tax dollar. We are ready for change.

Thanks to the support of members, Grumpy Taxpayer$ has established a new social media presence. Enjoy and let us know what you think.

Reddit Site – https://www.reddit.com/user/GrumpyTaxpayers/

Instagram Site – https://www.instagram.com/grumpytaxpayers

Threads Site – https://www.threads.com/@grumpytaxpayers

YouTube Site – https://www.youtube.com/@GrumpyTaxpayersofVictoria

LinkedIn Site – https://www.linkedin.com/company/grumpy-taxpayer/

Twitter Site – https://x.com/grumpytaxpayer1

Thank you for your continued support.

~ John Treleaven, Chair of Grumpy Taxpayer$