The True Debt

How fast the debt has grown

Debt fell slowly from 2020 to 2023 and then more than tripled in two years as the borrowing approved since 2023 was drawn: Fire Hall #5, strategic land purchases, the Ice and Dry Arenas, Smith Athletic Park, the Willowbrook Connector and 80 Avenue, Yorkson Community Park and other projects. In 2024 the Township's year-end debt was already the second-highest of any BC municipality, after Vancouver.

Every debt number you have heard, reconciled

Candidates and news stories have used many different totals. Most of them are correct for what they measure.

How the borrowing limit works

BC municipalities do not have a debt limit in dollars. Under section 174 of the Community Charter and the Municipal Liabilities Regulation, a municipality's annual cost of servicing its liabilities cannot exceed 25% of the previous year's "calculation revenue", which is property taxes, fees, grants in lieu and investment income, excluding DCCs and developer-contributed assets. Borrowing that Council has authorized but not yet drawn counts, and so do loan guarantees. The Inspector of Municipalities can approve going over.

"Room" in dollars therefore depends on assumptions: how much annual servicing room is left, the interest rate, and how long the loans run (30 years at most). The Municipal Finance Authority lends on a sinking-fund basis, so each dollar of room supports a little less principal than a simple mortgage would.

Rebuilding the budget slide's $11 million

Calculation revenue on the June 2025 certificate	$316.5M
Liability servicing limit (25%)	$79.1M a year
Less servicing on all debt and approved borrowing bylaws	−$56.4M
Room before the Housing Trust	$22.7M a year
Less the Housing Trust's $177.3M, as 30-year MFA debt at 4.69%	−$11.7M
Room after the Housing Trust (the slide says "$11M")	$11.0M a year
Converted to principal at 4.69%	$134M (20 yr) / $166M (30 yr)

Our reconstruction matches the slide to three decimal places using the MFA's sinking-fund method (4.69% interest, sinking fund earning 3.5%). By this measure the Township has used 86% of its limit.

So where does $350 million come from?

In an April 23, 2026 CBC story, the Township said it can take out another $350 million in debt, reaching a "projected debt limit" of $950 million, and that the budget slide showing $166 million was incorrect. CBC attributes these figures to the Township rather than quoting the Mayor directly. The Township has not published how it calculated them.

Changing the interest rate or term cannot get there. Even at 0% interest over the 30-year legal maximum, $11 million a year repays only $330 million. Reaching $350 million needs roughly $22 million to $29 million a year of room, which means counting different things. These are the three ways to get there:

What the limit does not count: $79 million borrowed from reserves

The Smith Athletic Park and the Ice and Dry Arenas still needed $95 million in 2026. Staff recommended taking $15.66 million from the CAC reserve and internally borrowing $79.05 million from three reserves, to be repaid from CACs and/or general revenue over up to 30 years at 4.69% (Report 26-14, recommendation (c)).

Section 189 of the Community Charter allows a municipality to lend money between its capital reserves, as long as it is paid back with interest by the time the lending reserve needs it. Because the Township owes the money to itself, it does not count against the provincial limit and does not appear in the $584.4 million. It is still debt. Repaying $79.05 million over 30 years at 4.69% costs about $5 million a year, or about $149 million in total. If sewer pipes need major work in the meantime, that money has to come from somewhere else.

The 2026 budget also covered $10.1 million of capital debt servicing as a one-time item from reserves. That coverage ends in 2027 and is a large part of the 22.80% tax increase projected for that year. See the financial sustainability page for how the 2026 tax increase was smoothed.

Borrowing bylaws behind the debt

Amounts from the bylaws, the June 2025 certificate and the 2026 Financial Plan (E.5 pp. 96 to 98); rates from the 2025 Annual Report, Note 8 and Schedule 1. In 2026, $54.3M of temporary borrowing was converted to long-term MFA debt.

What residents should ask for

• Publish a current Liability Servicing Limit certificate every year, using the latest revenue, so residents can see the real room.
• Say whether the Township guarantees the Housing Trust's loans, and how the Province treats them.
• Explain the $350 million, or correct it.
• Publish the repayment schedule for the $79 million borrowed from reserves, and report each year on what has been paid back.
• Adopt a debt policy that keeps servicing well under the provincial ceiling, so there is room left for emergencies and for replacing aging infrastructure.
• Grow revenue without growing liabilities. Infill and multiplexes add tax base on existing streets and pipes. New greenfield infrastructure adds maintenance costs for decades.

Sources

• Township of Langley 2025 Annual Report, Financial Section (pp. 32, 38, 41, 50 to 52, 56, 58, 70 to 71, 77)
• February 23, 2026 Council agenda, Report 26-14, Draft 2026 to 2030 Financial Plan (E.5 pp. 1, 6, 28, 93, 96 to 98)
• 2026 Budget Slides and Capital Budget
• CBC News, "Why Langley Township's $600M debt is city hall's biggest debate," April 23, 2026
• Province of BC Local Government Statistics, Schedules 601.1, 602.1 and 603 (2018 to 2024)
• Community Charter, Part 6 (ss. 174, 179 to 182, 189) and Municipal Liabilities Regulation, BC Reg 254/2004
• June 3, 2025 Liability Servicing Limit Certificate, obtained through a freedom of information request

Calculations are ours and are shown above. Strong Towns Langley is a non-partisan community group and does not endorse any slate. Related: Financial Sustainability · Are CACs legal in BC?