For Homeowners
Victoria's operating budget grew 31% in three years — from $300 million to $394 million — and the city did not get 31% better. Council closed four straight above-inflation tax years with one-time measures, then in 2026 distributed a 7.28% levy increase as 9.34% to residential and 4.78% to business. You paid the difference. This framework is built on the premise that the gap between what Victoria spends and what Victoria delivers is the mandate: close it, and everything else is paid for without a single new tax.
This is the same framework as the full Program — same measures, same numbers, same jurisdictional caveats — read through an owner's eyes. Every measure named here is costed and sourced in the master, and every number links back to it.
← Back to the frameworkThe Taxpayer Guarantee (Measures 66 to 66d)
- A capped glide path on the number you actually pay (Measure 66). The cap is on the residential rate, not the blended headline: 6.5% maximum in Year 1 — measured against the 9.34% council actually levied on homes — 5% in Year 2, then roughly inflation plus growth. Both numbers published side by side every year, with the dollar change on a median home. Stated honestly: your individual bill also moves with BC Assessment, which the City does not control.
- Over-collection refunded, not swept (Measure 66b). When the City collects more than budgeted, the credit lands on your notice — not in a reserve. It is written so a later council cannot quietly reverse it.
- A debt rule (Measure 66c) that stops borrowing against the next council, and referendums for new capital projects over $25 million (Measure 77) — you vote on the big spends.
- One Household Bill (Measure 66d). Property tax plus water, sewer, solid waste, and the regional charges, in one published number.
Where the money comes from — verified, line by line
Zero-based budgeting of all 200+ city programs (Measure 65) and competitive testing of waste and street-cleaning contracts, both directions, same specification (Measure 15). Phoenix saved over $25 million with this model; the target here is $8–14M per year in verified savings by Year 4, published against the year each was promised — scorecard row 2, currently $0 reported by the City.
Your house, your projects, your permit
- Reduced or waived fees for small renovations (Measure 76). Projects under $50K that add a suite, improve accessibility, save energy, or restore heritage — with a published one-day-turnaround target for simple categories and a free pre-approved design library for garden suites and retrofits.
- Legalize the suite you already have (Measure 8b). A 24-month amnesty on a life-safety standard, a named permitting concierge, no retroactive penalty for coming forward inside the window — your mortgage helper becomes counted, inspectable, legal rental stock.
- Permit answers in writing (Measure 7). Simple under 6 weeks, complex under 6 months, published quarterly.
Your street, your neighbourhood, your equity
- Roads first (Measure 25). Potholes fixed within 7 days of report, condition-based priorities published quarterly — stop building new things while the old things crumble. Stormwater upgraded on the same discipline (Measure 59).
- Design standards that protect what your home is worth (Measures 43 and 46). Clear, enforceable design codes in heritage areas — new buildings that complement, not clash — and heritage buildings protected and restored.
- Trees and canopy (Measures 61 and 49). 5,000 new trees by 2030, a 35% canopy target — and since 75% of Victoria's urban forest stands on private land, a free seedling program for homeowners.
- Local Area Plans brought back (Measure 80c) — your neighbourhood's plan, written with your neighbourhood — and streets lit all night (Measure 37).
- Seismic and coastal resilience (Measure 64b). The one hazard that can erase home equity overnight, funded and scheduled instead of deferred.
Also in the framework for you
- Money for your retrofit (Measures 60 and 57). Climate Friendly Homes rebates expanded with published uptake — insulation, heat pumps — and support for EV charging at home.
- Development next door, without surprises (Measures 78 and 78b). The 5-step process for every major project, and the material-change rule: no substantive change after the public hearing without renotification. What was approved is what gets built.
- Who lobbied, on the record (Measure 79d). A public lobbyist registry for development files — you can see who asked for what before it lands on your block.
- The City's assets managed like you manage yours (Measures 69 and 68). Real estate holdings rationalized, overhead reduced through attrition and technology — part of the verified-savings engine behind the tax cap, not a slogan beside it.
Your Victoria in 2030
It is spring 2030, and your property tax notice arrives with something you have never seen in your life: a refund credit, because the City over-collected last year and gave it back. The increase has matched inflation-plus-growth for two years running, published beside a Household Bill that finally shows everything — tax, water, sewer, waste — in one number you can plan around. The pothole you reported on Tuesday was filled by Sunday. The garden suite over your garage is legal, permitted in a day from the free design library, and quietly paying half your tax bill. The new building at the end of the block looks like it belongs there, because the design code did its job — and when the City last wanted to borrow nine figures, it asked you first, on a ballot, and you said yes to a good project. The budget stopped growing faster than the city improved. That was the whole idea.
How you hold us to it
Quarterly public scorecard: the residential tax cap (row 1), verified savings banked line by line (row 2), the transparency package delivered (row 11), and canopy at 35% by 2035 (row 12). Sixteen quarterly reports over the term, each published within 30 days — miss one, and everybody knows.