Loss of San Group tax revenue could mean reduced services, tax hikes in Port Alberni

By Carla Wilson Carla Wilson
Victoria Times Colonist
January 25, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Port Alberni may have to cut ­services and raise property taxes to help make up for lost revenue in the wake of forestry company San Group going into creditor protection, says the city’s mayor. San Group already owed almost $1 million in property taxes from last year. “We are in the process right now of reviewing possible ­service cuts, so we are looking at that as an option,” Mayor Sharie Minions said Friday. “Because there’s last year’s unpaid [tax] that has to be accounted for and then the budget impact for this year as well.” The final budget amount or property tax impact are not yet known, because council is still working on the draft budget, expected to be approved by March 10. …Many of the unsecured ­creditors are based in Port Alberni, a community with a population of just under 28,000 in 2022, according to Statistics Canada. Minions said the impact on the city is “huge.”

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