Kelowna City Council will spend today in chambers deliberating a municipal budget which calls for an average increase to taxpayers of 6.48%. Deliberations are scheduled to begin at 8:15 a.m. and run until 7 p.m. If required, deliberations will resume at 9 a.m. Friday. Castanet will broadcast the entire deliberations live.
The increase would mean a home valued at $500,000 would see a tax increase of about $97. In preparing the proposed budget, City Manager, Ron Mattiussi, told Council the City has been fortunate to have been able to keep tax increases low over the past number of years. "For many years the City has been able to keep tax increases fairly low, through prudent savings, discipline, providing services in a timely manner and through the benefits of growth," says Mattiussi. "There are a number of things conspiring against us including our rapid rate of growth and construction driving up many of our costs." Mattiussi says not only has the cost of providing basic services increased, but so has the expectations of the community.
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Don Quixote Note: Vernon will have at least 4 two hour sessions of budget deliberations, the first of which is at 1Pm today and another at 10 AM tomorrow.
If Shaw does not choose to tape and replay these deliberations on their channel, I will be filming them and subjecting any of you who choose to view on this blog an insight into how your tax rates for 2008 were decided.
As my filming techniques are somewhat suspect, I hope Shaw or any other citizen with better documentary filming skills undertake to take on this task but if not I will take it on. The Morningstar has recently introduced a film branch so I invite their publisher to send down the crew !
The increase would mean a home valued at $500,000 would see a tax increase of about $97. In preparing the proposed budget, City Manager, Ron Mattiussi, told Council the City has been fortunate to have been able to keep tax increases low over the past number of years. "For many years the City has been able to keep tax increases fairly low, through prudent savings, discipline, providing services in a timely manner and through the benefits of growth," says Mattiussi. "There are a number of things conspiring against us including our rapid rate of growth and construction driving up many of our costs." Mattiussi says not only has the cost of providing basic services increased, but so has the expectations of the community.
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Don Quixote Note: Vernon will have at least 4 two hour sessions of budget deliberations, the first of which is at 1Pm today and another at 10 AM tomorrow.
If Shaw does not choose to tape and replay these deliberations on their channel, I will be filming them and subjecting any of you who choose to view on this blog an insight into how your tax rates for 2008 were decided.
As my filming techniques are somewhat suspect, I hope Shaw or any other citizen with better documentary filming skills undertake to take on this task but if not I will take it on. The Morningstar has recently introduced a film branch so I invite their publisher to send down the crew !
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