Adrian Nieoczym - Kelowna Capital News Published: May 05, 2009 10:00 PM
City of Kelowna homeowners will see their municipal taxes increase an average of 3.49 per cent this year and their total property tax bills increase an average of 6.1 per cent. Kelowna city council unanimously approved the increases at its meeting Monday. Council was scheduled to hold a special meeting today to give final reading to its 2009 financial plan. The 3.49 per cent increase is slightly more than the 3.35 per cent increase proposed in the provisional budget tabled earlier this year. Since the provisional budget, the city has had to come up with more money for transit and approved a graffiti eradication and prevention program. As well, the provincial and federal governments put infrastructure money on the table, provided the city came up with its share. “We understand the economy is very tough for people out here,” said Kelowna Mayor Sharon Shepherd after Monday’s meeting. “I just feel that our council did the best they could in recognizing that we wanted to maintain a level of services,” and keep the community viable. Costs associated with the new H20 Aquatic Centre in the Mission account for 1.7 of the 3.49 per cent increase.
In the month leading up to the provincial election, Kelowna saw $28 million in new capital projects announced in partnership with senior levels of government. The city managed to come up with most of its $9 million share from reserve funds, gas tax revenues and development cost charges. Only $112,000 will come from general taxation. “We are very pleased that we were able to accommodate the $28 million in infrastructure projects that were not planned for within our budget through the reserve component that we have,” said Shepherd. For the owner of a single family home assessed at $492,800 in 2009, municipal taxes will increase approximately $52. Residents will also see a $55 increase to the garbage collection/reduction fee, to $177, to cover the new automated recycling and waste collection program and changes in the recycling market.
Other changes ratepayers will notice on their tax bills include a 2.3 per cent increase to the school tax levy, a 3.6 per cent increase to the regional district levy, a 4.2 per cent increase to the hospital levy, a 4.8 per cent increase to the library levy and a 3.9 per cent increase to the B.C. assessment charge. The average homeowner will pay $2,520 in property taxes, an increase of $145.76 over last year. In total, $219 million in capital projects will go forward in Kelowna this year. Among the larger projects are the Glenmore Bypass, the widening of Gordon Drive and the construction of Stuart Park. The city is also building an active transportation network that will see off-street pathways along Lakeshore Road, Gordon Drive and Houghton Road and the expansion of the Abbot Street Recreation Corridor.A pathway will also be constructed along Cawston Avenue to connect the downtown to Rails with Trails.
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