Proposed Property Tax Increase Reduced

City staff have reviewed and made changes to several items in the 2023 preliminary budget to reduce the proposed tax increase to 3.80 per cent.

That is down slightly from the original 4.01 per cent request. Councillors applauded staff for the effort.

sa国际传媒淭hank you staff for a great job and to our city manager as well, and thank you Mayor Dyas for your leadership,sa国际传媒� said Coun. Luke Stack.

Coun. Maxine DeHart said it was fantastic to be under four per cent.

sa国际传媒淚 think the city departments are happy with what they got, I hope they are.sa国际传媒�

Coun. Rick Webber said he was initially worried about the budget considering inflation and having to use reserves.

sa国际传媒淲e wonsa国际传媒檛 be able to do this every year,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淚 hate to be the Grinch.sa国际传媒�

Council voted in favour of the revised figure with Coun. Ron Cannan opposed.

Public Safety Levy

The citysa国际传媒檚 proposed public safety levy request in the 2023 preliminary budget will cost nearly $1.7 million dollars.

The total cost is almost $1.5 million, with $205,000 coming from reserve funds. The one per cent levy is included in the proposed 4.01 per cent tax increase for 2023.

In speaking in favour of the budget item, Coun. Mohini Singh noted Kelowna is growing, and that means a need for more protective services, such as police officers and firefighters.

sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 not a nice to have but a need to have,sa国际传媒� she said.

The levy is budgeted at $3.4 million for 2024, and $5.2 million in 2025, all coming from taxation.

Parkinson Recreation Centre Replacement

City staff have requested council set aside $828,000 a year until 2025 for debt financing to replace the Parkinson Recreation Centre.

Itsa国际传媒檚 to help prepare for and smooth out the taxation impact of borrowing. Funds will be contributed to reserves in 2023 and then reallocated to cover debt servicing costs when appropriate.

The $3.9 million allocated for the design process of whatsa国际传媒檚 being called the Kelowna Community Campus will be left in reserve until council is satisfied with the scope of the project. That would likely include another tour of recreation facilities in the Lower Mainland. The previous council did a similar tour in Feb. 2021.

Bylaw Services

Council is looking for more money to fund bylaw services in the 2023 preliminary budget.

City staff has suggested $65,900 for each of 2023, 2024, and 2025 to fund part-time bylaw officers during the summer months as well as overtime.

sa国际传媒淭here just doesnsa国际传媒檛 seem to be enough of them to deal with the various issues in the city,sa国际传媒� said Mayor Tom Dyas in asking staff to find more money in the budget.

There is also a request in the budget for two full-time bylaw positions, which would be funded through the proposed one per cent public safety levy.

Council voted to defer the item with Coun. Luke Stack opposed.

Journey Home Strategy

A review of the citysa国际传媒檚 Journey Home Strategy Implementation ought to be done in-house according to several councillors.

Mayor Dyas suggested the budget item be deferred to assess whether the $40,000 review, which would be conducted by an outside consultant, could be done for less and by city staff.

Coun. Luke Stack agreed.

sa国际传媒淲e have gained expertise with our own staff,sa国际传媒� said Stack. sa国际传媒淲hy cansa国际传媒檛 we do this review in-house and use our own expertise?sa国际传媒�

Councillor Loyal Wooldridge said he would still like to see the budget kept at $40,000.

sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 a top priority in the community,sa国际传媒� he added.

Council voted to have staff reconsider the item with Wooldridge opposed.

Climate Change

Coun. Charlie Hodge made a case for the city to live up to addressing climate action in the budget.

sa国际传媒淣ext to our crime problem nothing is more important than the climate and we need to look at hiring someone,sa国际传媒� said Hodge, referring to a funding request for an environmental stewardship manager position.

The cost for 2023 is $74,300 and increases to $195, 500 for both 2024 and 2025, coming from taxation.

In 2021, council approved a request for a term position responding to concerns about the citysa国际传媒檚 climate change and environmental indicators that were not trending in the correct direction.

Coun. Ron Cannan made a motion to defer the request and extend the term position for a year.

sa国际传媒淩ather than spend $200,000 on a staff position Isa国际传媒檇 like to see the money going to climate action programs.sa国际传媒�

Several councillors spoke against deferring the item and Cannansa国际传媒檚 motion was defeated.

Infrastructure

Mayor Tom Dyas has suggested council look at taking a $300,000 burden off the taxpayer for three budget items.

A strategic transportation partnership with the Regional District of Central Okanagan, a downtown transportation review and a stormwater basin project are all one-time requests in the 2023 preliminary budget. Days asked staff to consider funding those items from reserves rather than taxation.

Staff will report back to council later today.

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Coun. Luke Stack had concerns over increases to the snow and ice removal budget. The request is for $200,000 per year over the next three years, bringing the budget to $600,000 by 2025.

So far the city has spent $2 million of the $2.185 million set aside for 2022, and the average annual overage for the past 10 years has been approximately $200,000.

Staff told council that with the overspending the city is looking to catch up. The plan is to spread the increase over time so there is not a big hit to the taxpayer. Staff noted that if there were several years of surplus in the snow removal budget, it would be adjusted downward.

Coun. Charlie Hodge asked if council, and staff to some extent, have failed to plan for the rainy day.

sa国际传媒淚 donsa国际传媒檛 want to see us get caught short again,sa国际传媒� added Hodge.

The goal is to ensure service levels will be met for citizens, and not to rely on reserves to fund overages in the snow and ice removal budget, explained Doug Gilchrist, city manager.

Transportation

Council has concerns over funding in the 2023 preliminary budget for traffic calming in city neighbourhoods.

sa国际传媒淚 think requests outweigh funding,sa国际传媒� said Coun. Loyal Wooldridge.

The amount set aside in the budget is $150,000.

sa国际传媒淭hat seems too small with so many requests coming,sa国际传媒� added Coun. Luke Stack. sa国际传媒淲e need to be doing more in this area, and Isa国际传媒檓 not comfortable with only $150,000.sa国际传媒�

Council voted to defer the item to be discussed later today, to allow staff to come back with more information.

Parks

City council had questions and comments about a more than $900,000 budget item to replace public washrooms in Rotary Park.

Coun. Charlie Hodge called any washroom at that price a sa国际传媒楾aj Mahal,sa国际传媒� while Coun. Gordon Lovegrove suggested the city may want to consider the sa国际传媒榩ay as you gosa国际传媒� model for public washrooms as seen in Europe.

Staff and council are going through funding requests from all departments in the 2023 preliminary budget. The net tax demand for 2023 is estimated at $173.8 million. It requires a proposed 4.01 per cent increase on the municipal portion of a property ownersa国际传媒檚 tax bill and includes a one per cent levy for community safety. The citysa国际传媒檚 total budget is $532 million.

sa国际传媒淲ith inflation expected to be at eight per cent by the end of the year, there are cost pressures I havensa国际传媒檛 seen in my 18 years with the city,sa国际传媒� said Doug Gilchrist, city manager, as he introduced the budget to council.

The 2023 preliminary budget is available on the .

gary.barnes@kelownacapnews.com
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