Your Tax Bill, Lantzville’s Real Balance Sheet, and Why Reserves Protect Homeowners
Every year, Lantzville property owners receive their BC Assessment notice, followed soon after by their municipal tax bill. Two common beliefs often circulate around the village:
"My assessment went up, so the District is making money."
"District financial reports show an accumulated surplus of over $68 million. Why are taxes increasing, but why is the budget tight for local projects?"
Both reactions are understandable, but both rest on misconceptions about municipal finance.
Owning a home does not give you cash to replace a leaking roof, high property assessments and accounting surpluses do not equal a spendable municipal budget.
Is Lantzville Sitting on Millions?
Lantzville’s audited financial statements show an accumulated surplus of $68.2 million. Under Public Sector Accounting Board (PSAB) standards, however, this surplus is not money sitting in the bank.
94% of Lantzville’s surplus is permanently locked in asphalt, pipes, concrete, and soil. Every dollar in tangible capital assets represents an aging asset that wears out and must eventually be rebuilt. Lantzville is asset-rich, but cash-constrained. We cannot pay a contractor with a stretch of road.
| Balance Sheet Component | Value ($) | Share (%) | Practical Usability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net Tangible Capital Assets | $64,300,000 | 94.3% | Illiquid Infrastructure: Roads, water pipes, sewer mains, culverts, civic buildings, and parklands. |
| Restricted & Capital Reserves | ~$2,800,000 – $3,200,000 | ~4.4% | Earmarked Savings: Funds legally restricted for specific infrastructure renewal and expansions. |
| Operating Surplus & Working Cash | ~$700,000 – $1,100,000 | ~1.3% | Daily Working Liquidity: Funds required for payroll, operations, and emergency buffers. |
| Total Accumulated Surplus | $68.2 Million | 100.0% | Total Audited Net Worth. |
The Tax Base Vulnerability: Who Pays the Bills?
Unlike Nanaimo or Victoria, Lantzville cannot rely on commercial malls, car dealerships, or industrial parks to absorb large infrastructure costs.
Assessment Roll: Residential properties make up 97% of Lantzville’s total assessment base; businesses represent just 3%.
Tax Revenue: Residential taxpayers directly pay 85.5% of all municipal property taxes collected. Business and commercial properties contribute 7.5%, and utilities contribute 4.6%.
Lantzville has no commercial cushion. If reserves run dry and a critical culvert or water main fails, 85.5 cents of every repair dollar comes straight from residential homeowners.
The "33% Fact"
In British Columbia, municipalities use a revenue-requirement model, not a percentage-of-wealth model:
Council approves the municipal budget (expenditures minus non-tax revenues like grants and user fees).
The remaining shortfall is the tax levy.
The tax rate is adjusted across the assessment roll to collect only that budgeted amount.
If community-wide assessments rise by 10% due to real estate inflation, tax rates adjust downward so the District collects only its approved budget. Furthermore, the District of Lantzville controls only a fraction of your annual tax bill. For 2025, the residential tax rate (SD 68) is $4.3126 per $1,000 of assessed value:
District of Lantzville (General Municipal): $1.4352 per $1,000 (33.3% of your bill).
Outside Taxing Agencies: $2.8774 per $1,000 (66.7% of your bill), collected on behalf of School District 68 (31.0%), the Regional District of Nanaimo (14.9%), Regional Hospital District (12.5%), Police (4.3%), and Library (3.2%).
| Agency | Rate ($/1,000) | Share of Bill (%) | On a 1M Home (/yr) |
|---|---|---|---|
| District of Lantzville | 1.4352 | 33.3% | $1,435.20 |
| External Authorities (SD 68, RDN, Hospital, Police, Library, MFA/BCA) | 2.8774 | 66.7% | $2,877.40 |
| Total Residential Tax Bill | 4.3126 | 100.0% | $4,312.60 |
Council controls only 33 cents of every tax dollar billed. Even if Council froze municipal taxes at 0%, your total bill could still increase if school, hospital, or regional district requisitions rise.
Conversely, when Council pauses capital reserve contributions to suppress the tax rate, such as a 2019 motion that removed proposed contributions for Costin Hall ($20,220), the Heritage Church ($20,800), and Municipal Hall ($20,800), the short-term savings amount to pocket change on your notice, but leave 100% of the unfunded repair liability on local homeowners.
Capital Reserves: The Municipal Roof Fund
Under the Community Charter, local governments must hold capital savings in protected reserve accounts. They cannot be spent as general slush funds.
Development Cost Charges (DCCs): By provincial law, DCCs paid by developers can be used only to expand infrastructure for new growth. DCCs cannot legally be spent to pave an old road, fix Costin Hall, or patch an aging pipe.
Policy 3009-2: Adopted on February 26, 2025, Council’s updated Reserve and Surplus Policy establishes liquidity floors, such as a $700,000 minimum and $1,050,000 optimum cash floor in the Unrestricted Water Operating Fund. This policy prevents emergency borrowing and protects households from utility rate spikes when unexpected repairs occur.
Questions for Discussion
Knowing that only 33 cents of every tax dollar stays with Lantzville, how should Council balance keeping taxes low today against saving for aging infrastructure?
Since residential homeowners pay 85.5% of municipal taxes, does pausing reserve contributions truly save us money, or does it just defer a bigger bill to future homeowners?
Should Council strictly enforce the savings floors in Policy 3009-2, even when faced with calls for a short-term tax freeze?
(In Part 2, we examine the true costs of deferred maintenance on Costin Hall, the Heritage Church, drainage culverts, and how borrowing adds millions in avoidable interest.)
