Municipal budget season means a preview of tax hikes in Kamloops, Okanagan

It’s municipal budget season so Kamloops and cities around the Okanagan have begun releasing property tax increase proposals. In Kelowna, the proposed property tax increase is 4.36 per cent, or roughly $108 a year for the average homeowner. Penticton’s tax increase is currently set at 7.88 per cent, or $168 dollars a year. Kamloops is set for a 9.67 per cent increase, or $241 per year. Vernon has proposed an 11 per cent increase, which comes out to roughly $217 for the average homeowner. Kamloops, Kelowna, Penticton and Vernon cited increasing costs for RCMP as one of the reasons for their proposed tax hikes. In Vernon, property owners are going to be paying an extra $39 a year, a total of $585, for police services. READ MORE: Kelowna proposes tax increase of 4.36% as budget talks begin https://infotel.ca/newsitem/kelowna-proposes-tax-increase-of-436-as-budget-talks-begin/it107295 Penticton is proposed a community safety building for the RCMP, along with other notable expenses like a remote guard camera program. “The budget works to strike a balance between delivering the services that residents expect and deserve and, at the same time, ensure we’re doing it in fiscally responsible way that recognizes the economic challenges people face,” Penticton Mayor Julius Bloomfield said in a press release. “We’re making investments in community safety and continuing to focus on creating more accessible housing. We’ve been able to reduce the proposed tax increase to lessen the impact.” Kelowna plans on making more investments in capital projects, and had a round of budget deliberations Dec. 5. “Our commitment to prudent financial management and sustainable growth is at the heart of this budget,” Kelowna's city manager Doug Gilchrist said in a press release. “Not only is the city in an enviable financial position maintaining a low and competitive tax rate, but we have identified efficiencies totalling $3 million to be redeployed to priority areas, of which $2.4 million directly impacts general taxation. We’re also working diligently to generate the majority of our revenues from sources other than property taxes.”  Kamloops has several large projects underway and cites skilled labour shortages, and inflation on construction costs as financial pressures for this year’s budget. The property tax increases aren’t finalized until the annual budgets are adopted. Cities have until March 2025 to complete budgets, and most cities are still in the early stages of budget talks. To contact a reporter for this story, email Jesse Tomas mailto:jtomas@infonews.ca  or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. Find our Journalism Ethics policy here. https://infotel.ca/newsitem/code-of-ethics/it106782 We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .