City projects will cost Kelowna taxpayers extra for 2013

Kelowna home-owners can expect a 2.74 per cent increase in municipal taxes this year. That means an extra $45.07 per year for each taxpayer based on an average home value of $455,910. Taxpayers provide 24 per cent of the city's budget which is used to pay for municipal operations, police services, building and development and waste disposal.

Financial Services Director Keith Grayston presented the 2013 final budget to city councillors today. The report identified the city's costs of operation, including a repair to Mill Creek Bridge, five additional left-turn signals on Highway 97, a lakefront retaining wall at Kinsmen Park, a batting cage for the Cricket Club and new tourism building for City Park.

Grayston also outlined a number of city projects to be funded, including:

• $1,358,860 for the Lakeshore Road re-design
• $400,000 for a new boiler at the H2O Aquatic Facility
• $75,000 to install new water meters
• $17,780 for drainage improvement along Priest Creek

Part of the budget report required approval of a five-year financial plan. Upgrades to the Kelowna RCMP Detachment, new fire equipment and park maintenance are expected to cause a significant increase for the 2014 budget with a 1.29 per cent taxation impact.

Mayor Walter Gray says the projected numbers are not written in stone.

“Council has to decide what's necessary and what's nice against the public appetite for taxation,” he says. “Those numbers will hopefully come down.”

To contact the reporter for this story, email Julie Whittet at jwhittet@infotelnews.ca or call (250)718-0428.