Vancouver city councillors have told managers they need to slash costs to avoid an unprecedented property tax hike in this year's budget that could hit 10 per cent. A draft budget shows a property tax hike of six per cent would be needed to maintain current service levels. The economic downturn is adding extra pressure to cut costs or hike taxes. Revenue from development permits, for example, has been plunging. In addition, council is planning to shift part of the tax burden from businesses to homeowners. It all adds up to a potential tax increase for homeowners of more than 10 per cent, unless costs are cut, say staff and councillors. Coun. Raymond Louie said council decided at Tuesday night's meeting to instruct the city manager to implement a freeze on hiring and pay increases, encourage early retirements and cut down on the city's use of outside consultants. Council will also seek public input before the budget is finalized in April. But Coun. David Cadman said it will be a struggle to avoid cuts to services. "It's going to be very, very hard without cutting into services. Of course we'll wait and see what the surveys say. I think people want the services, but it's going to be hard," said Cadman.
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