If Langford had kept budget adjustments strictly tied to the standard Cost of Living, we wouldn't have been able to hire the number of police officers or firefighters needed for our growing community. Standard inflation increases don't buy anything new; they just cover the rising price of what we already have.
Recall the growth dividend from adding new residents was not even sufficient to offset these inflationary pressures, let alone add new services.
On top of that, Langford is uniquely vulnerable to these inflationary shifts. Because we operate on a lean model without massive in-house crews, over half of our city budgeted services rely on contracted services.
These long-term agreements have mandatory inflationary hikes built right into them, meaning when inflation spikes, the bill hits the city automatically and immediately.
Simply maintaining the status quo against these combined pressures accounted for roughly a $380 increase of the total tax adjustment on a representative home this term.
The video breaks down exactly how this impacts our bottom line. Take a look, and be sure to follow along as we look at the other major fiscal drivers in the next post.