First pillar of the team’s platform holds tax increases to the lowest level the books allow and puts nearly $800 million of Township debt on a public payback plan
LANGLEY TOWNSHIP – Langley Strong today released the first pillar of its platform, Respect for Taxpayers, anchored by a commitment to order a full forensic audit of Township finances within the team’s first 100 days in office – and to publish what it finds.
Langley Township’s own 2026 capital budget lays out the borrowing in four lines: $420.3 million in debt already in place, $182.4 million in progress, $17.6 million approved but not yet borrowed, and $177.3 million through the Township’s housing society – $797.6 million in total, or more than $14,000 per household. The housing society debt is borrowing the Township first said would not count against its borrowing limit; the same capital plan now concedes that it does. That document also puts the Township’s remaining annual debt-servicing room at roughly $11 million. Debt servicing payments are $53 million this year, and the Township’s own plan takes them to $74 million by 2030.
It’s not just the debt that has spiked. Property taxes rose 22 per cent over the current term, and the Township’s own five-year financial plan projects a further 22.8 per cent increase for 2027 alone.
Langley Township now carries the highest debt per person of any major city in British Columbia.
“Before we borrow another dollar of your money, we’re going to find out exactly how deep the hole is,” said mayoral candidate Jay Lundgren. “Forensic audit first, budget second. Then we hold every tax and fee increase to the lowest level the books allow, and we put the debt on a public payback plan you can check up on every year. That’s what respect for taxpayers looks like.”
“In last October’s byelection, thousands of Langley voters sent me back to Council on one promise: get to the bottom of the Township’s books,” said council candidate Blair Whitmarsh. “But the current council majority isn’t interested in seeing those facts go public. During their one term, counting the borrowing already in progress and approved, the debt has shot up to nearly $800 million, and nobody at Township Hall can show you the plan to pay it back. The forensic audit is that promise, kept.”
“I’ve read every line of every Township budget for more than 25 years, and I don’t say this lightly: this is a fiscal crisis,” said council candidate Kim Richter. “You don’t fix a crisis by hiding the numbers. You fix it by facing them in public and making the tough choices and priorities to dig yourself out of it.”
The pillar also commits the team to close the loophole that allowed $177 million to be borrowed through a Township-owned housing society without the say residents get on other borrowing, to abolish the Mayor’s Contingency Fund once it has paid for the audit, and to require a complete, public funding plan for every capital project before construction begins.
“If taxpayers carry the risk, taxpayers get a say – every borrowing, every time,” said council candidate Barb Martens. “That’s not a slogan. It’s a rule, and we’ll put it in writing.”
Respect for Taxpayers is the first of ten pillars Langley Strong will release ahead of the October 17 municipal election. The full pillar is available in PDF for download.
About Langley Strong
Langley Strong is a team of Township of Langley residents running to restore respect at Township Hall: mayoral candidate Jay Lundgren and council candidates Lauren Chalus, Shumail Javed, Margaret Kunst, Barb Martens, Kim Richter, Teresa Townsley and Blair Whitmarsh. The full platform is at LangleyStrong.ca.
-30-
Media Contact
Karen Zukas
Media Relations, Langley Strong
Email: media@langleystrong.ca
