Kelowna Capital News: Published: January 10, 2009
Municipal councils across the Central Okanagan are beginning to hammer out their 2009 budgets, just as statistics are being released showing how each municipality stacks up against the others when it comes to property taxes. Each year the Ministry of Community Development publishes its Taxes and Charges on a Representative House spreadsheet that details taxes paid by homeowners in 156 municipalities across the province. And for the first time, the District of West Kelowna is included in the statistics. In its first year of managing its own affairs, the district, known by its old name of Westside, came in as the fourth highest for property taxes out of 10 Okanagan municipalities. But, according to the figures, still managed to charge its property owners less than the City of Kelowna charged its residents. The combined total tax bill for a representative West Kelowna house worth $490,169 in 2008 was $3,202, $315 or nine per cent, less than a Kelowna home worth $457,155. “Right now we should be lower than Kelowna,” said Jim Zaffino, West Kelowna chief financial officer.
Zaffino said the district is not currently paying for policing or roads because of an agreement with the province that lasts until 2013. From a purely municipal standpoint, West Kelowna taxpayers paid considerably less than their Kelowna counterparts. Including general municipal tax, parcel taxes and user fees, a representative home in West Kelowna was charged $1,761, which equals $608 or about 26 per cent less than the $2,369 charged on a representative home in Kelowna. “We’re still getting two subsidies,” cautioned Zaffino, who added the district did not have to pay for snow removal this year, which he said is a good thing given the very heavy snow fall in recent weeks. In addition to the province picking up policing costs, the district will also receive $916,000 per year until 2013 for road maintenance. Zaffino cautioned that when it comes to property taxes, the more services a municipality is willing to provide, the higher the cost to taxpayers. West Kelowna is getting other financial assistance from the province but Zaffino said that doesn’t mean that without the assistance taxes would automatically be higher. “Other than $100,000 for planning grants, the rest is going into reserves or to fund capital projects,” said Zaffino.The CFO also noted the district is putting away funds now in a reserve to offset expected policing costs in 2013.
Just what the new municipality’s tax burden would be was a hotly debated item several years ago during the governance debate prior to incorporation. “The figures from the governance committee were projections,” said Mayor Doug Findlater, who was chaiman of the governance committee. “They were a snapshot of what it would look like if everything stayed the same.” An October 2006 fact sheet estimated that if the area stayed unincorporated, taxes would be $2,222 for an average home and would rise to $2,322 if the amalgamation with Kelowna option was chosen. Incorporation would cost taxpayers $2,411, according to the fact sheet.
Zaffino pointed out the fact sheet figures did not include school, regional district or other taxes.The most expensive municipality for property taxes in the Okanagan in 2008 was Vernon, where an average homeowner paid $3,846. The cheapest was Oliver at $2,349.
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Don Quixote Note: The spreadsheets used for these figures can be found at http://www.cd.gov.bc.ca/lgd/infra/tax_rates/tax_rates2008.htm
Sch704_2008.xls 
(55 KB)Taxes & Charges on a RepresentativeHouse
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