Kelowna property tax increase comes in lower than originally planned

KELOWNA – It’s not much, but homeowners in Kelowna will be happy to hear the property tax increase for 2015 will be a bit less than originally planned.

Adjustments to the final budget will see an official tax increase of 3.2 per cent, down from the 3.46 per cent established in the provisional budget submitted in January. The increase will raise $114-million out of a total budget of $347-million for 2015.

A report from city manager Ron Mattiussi says the decision last week by Kelowna city council to pull a budget request for $200,000 for repairs to Cameron House and an increase in the revenue from the Fortis B.C. gas franchise fee are the main reasons for the decrease.

The final budget number is also affected by the tax assessment conducted by the B.C. Assessment Authority. Assessments for 2015 increased 5.56 per cent over last year, a combination of a 3.28 per cent increase in overall market values and a 2.28 per cent increase in new construction assessments.

Final capital budget requests include a new hot water system for the Rutland arena, improvements to the Rose Avenue and Richter Street intersection and support for a new document management system.

As well, the city is buying property for the South Perimeter Road, which was moved ahead by seven years at the request of local developers, who will pay for the road’s construction.

In his report, Mattiussi notes the provincial homeowner grant has not changed and allows $770 for those under 65 and $1,054 for those over that threshold. Grants for homes valued over $1.1 million are reduced by $5 for every $1,000 of assessed value.

To contact the reporter for this story, email John McDonald at jmcdonald@infonews.ca or call 250-808-0143. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

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John McDonald

John began life as a journalist through the Other Press, the independent student newspaper for Douglas College in New Westminster. The fluid nature of student journalism meant he was soon running the place, learning on the fly how to publish a newspaper.

It wasn’t until he moved to Kelowna he broke into the mainstream media, working for Okanagan Sunday, then the Kelowna Daily Courier and Okanagan Saturday doing news graphics and page layout. He carried on with the Kelowna Capital News, covering health and education while also working on special projects, including the design and launch of a mass market daily newspaper. After 12 years there, John rejoined the Kelowna Daily Courier as editor of the Westside Weekly, directing news coverage as the Westside became West Kelowna.

But digital media beckoned and John joined Kelowna.com as assistant editor and reporter, riding the start-up as it at first soared then went down in flames. Now John is turning dirt as city hall reporter for iNFOnews.ca where he brings his long experience to bear on the civic issues of the day.

If you have a story you think people should know about, email John at jmcdonald@infonews.ca