Possible water, tax hikes Kate Bouey - CASTANET/ 2:01 pm |

Kate Bouey - CASTANET/ 2:01 pm |
Greater Vernon residents could face higher water rates and increased property taxes next year. Staff at the North Okanagan Regional District indicate they will recommend a two per cent water rate increase for 2016, effective Jan. 1. Members of the Greater Vernon Advisory Council (GVAC) were given a pre-budget overview Thursday, ahead of budget discussions which begin in November. “Is that the status quo? That's the 'keep the ship going' rate?” asked Mike Macnabb, electoral area C director. “Correct,” answered Stephen Banmen, NORD's general manager of finance. “We're doing water rates even before we see the budget,” complained Vernon councillor Bob Spiers. Spiers said an extra 800 households have come onto the water system bringing in extra revenue. “That's a two per cent increase right there.” Banmen pointed to inflationary pressures and an increase in utility costs, both of which affect the water system. Banmen said a lot of projects in the Master Water Plan are on hold while a review continues. “At the end of the day, they may be scrapped. It depends on the review process.” He expressed hope that the incoming Liberal government's federal campaign promise, to boost infrastructure spending by billions of dollars, would contribute to future spending on water projects. “There are a lot of unknowns,” said Banmen. “I'm not sure what we can expect.” Banmen was loath to put a figure on a possible increase in taxes. “We're not expecting no increase.” Coldstream councillor Doug Dirk pushed the matter, asking if it would be Consumer Price Index (CPI) plus two or three percent which would take it to a five percent hike. “Something like that,” agreed David Sewell, chief administrator. “You have to understand that we have brought in new assets,” said Sewell, pointing to the new athletics park on the Okanagan College campus and the purchase of Camp Hurlburt. “It's a status quo budget, excluding new assets.” Spiers asked staff to look at budget levels of all services to ensure “they're not artificially high.”
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Don Quixote Note: What I referred to as " artificially high" was the reserve levels of several functions (010-General Government & 065- Performing Arts both which have reserve levels in excess of $1.5 million)