October 9, 2025
Parteek Singh Mahal
Mayor Ken Sim is holding firm on his controversial “zero means zero” pledge, announcing plans to pursue a zero percent property tax increase for the 2026 budget—and signaling his intent to do the same the following year and revealed he may look to the city’s massive $3.4 billion cash reserve to help achieve a zero percent property tax increase.
In an interview on RED FM’s Harjinder Thind Show on Thursday, Sim defended the ambitious goal, which requires city staff to find over $100 million in savings to offset rising costs.
The mayor’s plan has been met with significant skepticism, especially after city staff calculated that a 5 to 7 percent tax hike would be necessary just to maintain current service levels. Despite this, Sim insists his administration can balance the budget without raising taxes while protecting core services like police, fire, libraries, and community centres.
“We take fiscal matters really seriously. We take core services really seriously. We are going to maintain our core services. And we are going to signal that we were coming in at a zero percent property tax increase this year. And, you know, in the next year, we plan to do the same,” he said.
During the interview, Sim floated a novel idea to cover any potential shortfall. He pointed to the city’s $3.4 billion in cash reserves, which he claims are underperforming, earning only 2.3% in fixed-income investments. He argued that if the city were permitted to manage these funds like ICBC or a pension plan, it could generate “hundreds of millions of dollars more,” which would be “more than enough to cover any shortfall.” However, Sim acknowledged that accessing or reinvesting these funds would not be a simple process and would require a change to the provincial charter governing the city.
Critics have labeled the proposal a “vote-buying” tactic ahead of the next election. When confronted with this accusation, Sim responded that his goal is to make life more affordable. “If residents and businesses like that decision and they vote for me, I think that’s fabulous,” he said, framing the debate as a choice between his fiscal plan and the opposition’s preference for a tax increase.
While the reserve fund was presented as an “illustrative example,” Sim maintained his “blind faith” in the City Manager to find the necessary operational efficiencies and cut waste regardless.
He cited examples of “silly things” the city could eliminate, such as lengthy permit applications for Christmas lights and Park Board spending on projects with no allocated capital. He assured Vancouverites that even if the province denies any changes to the reserve fund’s management, core services would not be cut, expressing confidence that a full operational review will uncover sufficient savings to deliver on his zero percent promise.
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