Council just passed a 3.97% property tax increase on a 5-4 vote, debt servicing is on its way to $74 million a year, and the Willoughby pool residents were promised looks mathematically impossible. So why are we talking about building a 1,600-seat performing arts centre?
Let’s talk about money. Not in a boring way. In the way that every Langley homeowner should care about, because it directly affects your property tax bill, the pool that was promised to Willoughby residents, and a big shiny performing arts centre that the Township of Langley is now trying to sell you on. The numbers are public record and they are not comforting.
Earlier this month, Langley Township council passed its 2026 budget on a narrow 5-4 vote, split along faction lines, with Mayor Eric Woodward’s Progress for Langley slate voting yes and all four independent councillors voting no. The budget includes a 3.97% property tax increase, 17 new firefighters, and two new RCMP officers. On an average home worth $1.5 million, your tax bill goes up by about $108 this year. That’s not the issue on its own. Public services cost money and Langley is growing fast.
The issue is what’s underneath that tax increase, and what council is planning to pile on top of it.
How Did the Township’s Debt Get This Big?
The Township of Langley had about $168 million in approved debt when the current council took office after the 2022 election. That number has since climbed past $668 million in approved borrowing authorizations. That is a quadrupling of debt in less than four years.
Some of that borrowing is tied to real things Langley needs, like roads, fire halls, and infrastructure for a growing community. But a significant chunk is tied to sports facilities and land purchases that were built around the assumption that developer fees would keep rolling in at the pace they did during the Willoughby boom years. That assumption is now being tested. As Councillor Margaret Kunst noted during the budget debate, development activity has slowed noticeably compared to what the Township saw at its peak.
That debt doesn’t just sit there quietly. It costs money to service. This year the Township is spending $53 million just on debt payments. That number is projected to hit $74 million by 2030 according to the Township’s own budget documents. Councillor Blair Whitmarsh raised this directly during the budget debate. The amount of debt, he said, seems to be increasing quite significantly. That’s a significant understatement.
The Willoughby Pool Was Promised. It Probably Won’t Happen.
For years, the Township has been telling residents in Willoughby that a community centre and aquatic facility is coming. Willoughby is one of the fastest growing neighbourhoods in all of Canada. Tens of thousands of people live there. They have been waiting for a pool and community space for a long time.
Local watchdog site Langley Tomorrow, which tracks the Township’s finances closely, did the math in February and came to a pretty blunt conclusion. The Willoughby Community Centre, as currently designed, cannot be built. The Township no longer has the borrowing room to finance it. The centre and pool were expected to cost somewhere in the range of $250 million when you add up all the pieces. The borrowing room left is $166 million. The math does not work.
To be fair, Mayor Woodward has disputed some of this framing. He points to reserves, surpluses, and future development fees as part of the picture. He told the Advance Times that 2026 budget projections, including tax increase forecasts, often look worse than they turn out to be, and that has been true in past years. It is reasonable to acknowledge that municipal finances are complicated and that forecasts are not certainties.
But even giving the mayor every benefit of the doubt, the trajectory is concerning. Debt servicing is heading toward $74 million a year. Development has slowed. And into this environment, the Township is now actively pursuing a major new project that independent analysts say will cost far more than the number being cited publicly.
The Performing Arts Centre: $85 Million or $200 Million?
The Township has been talking about a performing arts centre for years. The idea has genuine community support. Langley has a growing arts community, real cultural venues are few and far between, and many residents feel the community has outgrown the Timms Centre and similar spaces. The desire for a proper performance hall is legitimate and understandable.
The federal government has even put $25 million on the table to help pay for it. That’s real money. Mayor Woodward has cited an $85 million total budget for a 1,600-seat facility to be built at the Langley Events Centre site. The final decision on whether to move forward needs to be made by the end of 2026.
Here is the problem. Langley-based writer and financial analyst Mike Parker looked at what comparable performing arts centres actually cost to build in BC right now, and the numbers do not come close to $85 million for a 1,600-seat venue. Similar projects in Kamloops and Kelowna are coming in at over $200 million. Construction costs have escalated dramatically since the $65 million figure first floated during the 2021 federal election. The $85 million figure now cited by Woodward may itself already be out of date, and it almost certainly doesn’t reflect what a project of this scale will cost by the time shovels hit the ground.
