Budget
Big money spent on big snowfalls in January
VERNON - The bean counters at city hall totalled up the taxpayer dollars spent to deal with the huge snowfalls in Vernon in January and it wasn’t cheap. According to a report to city council, it cost $631,000 to plow the roads and sidewalks, and then haul the piles of snow away. The bill also...
School board and council take step toward open dialogue
PENTICTON - School District 67 has needs and Penticton council has the muscle to get things done so the two got together for a lunchtime discussion Monday to start a conversation. During a short Committee of the Whole meeting that followed, school board chair Linda Van Alphen said the two groups had a good conversation....
Vernon tax hike lower than expected
VERNON - This year’s taxes will go up, but not as much as first expected. After three days of budget deliberations for the 2015 financial plan, council wrapped up with a hike of 3.43 per cent, down slightly from the original 3.7 per cent. “That just shows the amount of work the management and their...
City finalizes 2015 budget
PENTICTON - Penticton city council has finalized their budget after just six days of deliberations. On Jan. 12, 2015 council approved a 1.3 per cent increase to cover a $326,230 deficit. Mayor Andrew Jakubeit said the 2015 budget factors in cost control and fiscal responsibility, in addition to several strategic investments asked for by residents...
City budget ‘bare bones’ despite sizeable tax increase
KELOWNA — Even Kelowna’s mayor concedes it sounds odd calling a possible 3.5 per cent tax increase a “bare bones budget." “It sounds crazy but this is actually a very lean budget,” says Colin Basran, who blames two big-ticket items — Kelowna’s new police station and recent union contract settlement — for the increase. “Both...
Council gets stingy under new grant policy
PENTICTON - Grant discussions highlighted Penticton city council’s desire to reduce perennial grant requests at Wednesday's budget meeting. Council began the day with a list of grant requests totalling $791,876. Their goal was to whittle away $121,870 of that in order to get the budget on track with the budgeted amount of $670,000. By meeting's...
City and RCMP open to policy changes following jury recommendations
PENTICTON - The City and RCMP are actively considering implementation of recommendations made by a jury following a coroner’s inquest into the death of 30-year-old Steven J. Scott who died in police custody two years ago. The RCMP have already implemented some changes after Scott’s death that the jury also recommended be made. One suggestion...
Budget meeting turnouts low
KAMLOOPS - Only about 40 people attended the two early budget meetings this week, quite a bit lower than last year. This year the city added an additional option to interact with staff during the meetings, online conferencing program TeamSpeak, but even with that and Twitter, Tammy Robertson says participation was still lower this year....
Tax fate for local nonprofits in hands of council
PENTICTON - Four local organizations were added to the list of tax exempt properties, even though they didn’t originally qualify under the city policy. Council made a motion to add four organizations—The Paternal Order of Eagles, The Penticton Minor Hockey Association, Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans in Canada, and the Senior’s Drop-in Centre—to the...
Okanagan Lake and S.S. Sicamous get revamped
PENTICTON - The Okanagan Lake waterfront will soon get another new look, thanks to city staff who are putting together a plan to revitalize the area around the S.S. Sicamous. Options for the plan were presented to city council last night, who will ultimately decide what they want to see in the new park. The...
Budget talks begin early
KAMLOOPS - It is only August but Kamloops city staff are getting a jump on the 2015 budget discussions by asking council to approve several items for the upcoming budget requests. It does not mean these items will be be part of the budget, it simply means staff was asking council to approve them to...
STAHN: Tax payers should find another way
The City of Kamloops spent $45,000 this year on a temporary tax office just to help residents who insist on paying their tax bills in person avoid the construction taking place outside of City Hall. Does that make sense in 2014? Only 2,600 people used the temporary office at McArthur Island working out to a cost...
School bus cuts get rough ride
VERNON - A school board decision to cut Vernon bus routes is getting a rough ride from parents. School District 22 is tightening up the routes to save approximately $125,000 from its budget. Around 300 students living 2.4 km or more from their school will now have to find another way to get to class....
School board positions on the chopping block
NORTH OKANAGAN-SHUSWAP - The number of trustees in school district 83 could dwindle by the end of the summer. The North Okanagan-Shuswap school district is considering reducing its board to seven trustees down from nine to save $23,420 and help balance the 2014/2015 budget. A review of B.C. school districts revealed SD 83 has more...
Vernon firefighters association rings alarm bells over staffing structures
MAYOR SAYS STAFFING STRUCTURE IS EFFICIENT, COST-SAVING AND DOESN’T CAUSE HIM CONCERN VERNON - A heated debate over Vernon's decision to deploy fire crews in groups of two instead of four continues to simmer. The Vernon Professional Firefighters Association is speaking out about staffing structures following the release of a YouTube video showing a fire...