Hefty tax hike raises West Kelowna’s ire

By Jason Luciw - Kelowna Capital News Published: March 17, 2009

West Kelowna council grilled Central Okanagan Regional District staff Tuesday afternoon, seeking an explanation for a whopping 16 per cent tax hike. Coun. Rosalind Neis said when tax bills go out later this year, she wants the regional district’s phone number clearly displayed on notices so West Kelowna taxpayers know who to contact about the increases. West Kelowna council has done its best to hold municipal tax hikes to between two and five per cent but the regional district apparently isn’t using the same restraint with its budget in these difficult financial times, Neis said. Regional district chief administrative officer Harold Reay said that the increases could be attributed to a costly parks requisition strategy and Bus Rapid Transit expansion, which the regional board and its member municipalities, including West Kelowna, approved last year. Reay noted that the increases would have been steeper had several members of the board, including West Kelowna Mayor Doug Findlater, not raised objections to the park acquisition strategy after realizing the tax impacts. The board opted to spread the program out over two years instead of one, lessening the cost to taxpayers in 2009.

Coun. Duane Ophus noted however, that taxes in West Kelowna would still be increasing 17 per cent for regional district services in 2010 as the second half of the parks acquisition strategy was implemented and further transit expansion was rolled out. He wanted to know if it was too late for West Kelowna to withdraw from the parks acquisition strategy or transit expansion. The District of West Kelowna should certainly be looking at taking over its own transit service from the regional district so council has a direct say in the way the service is expanded and delivered in future, stated Reay. In order to withdraw from rapid transit at this point however, West Kelowna would need the approval of the regional board and its member municipalities. Canceling support for the parks program or opting out at this point would also be a discussion that would need to take place around the board table, Reay explained. The regional district holds another budget review session Thursday morning. It plans to finally adopt its budget at a special meeting scheduled for Mar. 27. Findlater said he’ll certainly be bringing up both matters at the budget review. Meantime, the District of West Kelowna has instructed its staff to investigate what regional district services the municipality is involved with now and what services it should continue to be involved with in the future.