$77,000 worth of temporary hires requested at regional district budget talks

PENTICTON – The Regional District Okanagan Similkameen is looking add $77,600 to the 2016 payroll for temporary and part time positions.

At budget talks this week at the Penticton Lakeside Restort, directors considered requests for five positions from several departments.

Building Services is seeking three positions, one to help with Kennedy Lake permitting, one to aid in filing work, and a third to help with bylaw inspection. Water and Sewer Services needs temporary help to digitize “as builts.” The positions would be temporary and part time.

The Regional Trails Service is seeking to upgrade its student hire to a seasonal position, extending the position’s tenure from May to August, to an April to October term.

Community services manager Mark Woods told the board, student hiring resulted in workers leaving the position in mid-August, in the midst of tourist season. Hiring a seasonal worker could result in the same worker being hired annually, which would "build capacity" into the position, Woods said. The regional district looks after 300 kilometres of trails throughout the region, relying heavily on volunteer efforts to maintain them, he added.

A list of grant requests developed from a previous budget meeting, was also presented to the directors by finance manager Sandy Croteau.

Five potential recipients for regional district grant funding include the Community Foundation ($10,000), the Okanagan Similkameen Healthy Living Society ($12,000), the B.C. Winter Games ($20,000), the Alley Cats Alliance Society ($5,000) and the Meadowlark Festival ($2,500).

A remaining amount of $25,000 has been set aside for discretionary grant spending through the year.

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