Points to Ponder
Taxpayer Affordability
As Nanaimo heads toward the 2026 municipal election, one question should sit at the centre of every budget discussion: what can taxpayers actually afford?
These are not complicated economic theories. They are common-sense questions for households, small businesses, seniors, renters, and every resident who ultimately pays the bill.
Points to Ponder: Core Services Review
Before City Hall asks taxpayers for more money, should it first be required to prove it is spending the money it already receives wisely?
- What are the core services the City of Nanaimo must provide — and what services have been added without taxpayers clearly approving them?
- When was the last time City Hall seriously reviewed whether programs, departments, committees, consultants, policies, and projects are still necessary?
- If a service is not essential, not affordable, or not producing measurable results, why should taxpayers continue funding it?
- Should every new program come with a clear answer to one simple question: what existing cost will be reduced or eliminated to pay for it?
- Is Nanaimo being managed according to taxpayer priorities — or according to City Hall’s appetite for expansion?
A Core Services Review is not radical. It is basic housekeeping. Before taxpayers are asked to pay more, City Hall should prove it has reviewed what it already does.
Points to Ponder: Staffing & Wages
Nanaimo taxpayers are repeatedly told the City needs more staff, higher wages, and bigger budgets. But is anyone asking whether taxpayers are getting better results?
- If City Hall wages and benefits keep rising faster than many household incomes, how long before the people paying the bills simply cannot keep up?
- If Nanaimo has high unemployment, why is City Hall still describing serious staffing shortages while offering some of the better-paying jobs in the community?
- Are more employees actually solving problems — or is a larger bureaucracy creating more process, more reports, more bylaws, and more cost?
- Should wage increases be measured only against other government contracts, or also against the ability of local taxpayers to pay?
- Before approving more positions, should council require clear evidence showing what problem is being solved, what the cost will be, and how success will be measured?
Staffing is not just an internal City Hall issue. Every new position, every wage increase, and every benefit cost eventually lands on the taxpayer’s bill.
POINTS TO PONDER:
The Cheque Came Before the Details
Nanaimo council has approved another $75,000 for the Nanaimo Prosperity Corporation and its partners to pursue an affordable-housing initiative.
The problem is that council apparently approved the money before receiving clear deliverables showing exactly what taxpayers will get.
- NPC already receives approximately $665,000 annually from the city.
- The original request was for $300,000.
- It was reduced to exactly $75,000—the threshold beyond which competitive procurement would be required.
- The money does not purchase land, finance construction or guarantee even one completed home.
- Mayor Krog admitted he was not convinced real progress would result, but supported the grant largely because he trusted people involved.
The question taxpayers should ask:
Why can NPC not pursue this goal using the tax money it already receives?
Affordable housing is a worthy objective. But a worthy objective does not excuse approving the cheque before defining the job.
POINT TO PONDER
If Water Is the Issue, What Is the Limit?
If water supply is now the central concern with Nanaimo’s proposed data centre, then the question should not stop with data centres.
Shouldn’t the same standard apply to any large water user — industrial, commercial, institutional, or residential?
Before Council approves any major development, shouldn’t the City already know how much water Nanaimo can safely supply, under normal conditions and during drought conditions?
And if that limit is not clearly known, how can Council make an informed decision about any large user — not just the one currently attracting political attention?
ONE TAXPAYER. ONE POCKET.
Mayor and council are usually questioned about City taxes—but rarely about the RDN and hospital taxes they also help approve.
TO CONTINUE READING
From 2018 to 2026, the amount charged in Nanaimo’s major local tax categories increased by approximately:
Points to ponder:
Why are incumbents judged only on the City portion of the tax bill when many of them also vote on RDN and hospital-district budgets?
Why are taxpayers rarely shown the combined increase?
When candidates ask for another four years, shouldn’t they account for every tax increase they helped approve?
Figures are rounded and compare the amount charged in 2018 with the amount charged in 2026. The hospital levy is imposed by the Nanaimo Regional Hospital District, not directly by Nanaimo Regional General Hospital.
BUT THEY ALL COME FROM THE SAME POCKET.
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