VERNON – Many North Okanagan voters will have a multimillion dollar choice on their hands when they go the polls in next week’s municipal elections.
When voters in the Greater Vernon Water service area head to the ballot box they’ll be asked whether or not they support borrowing up to $70 million to fund priority projects under the Master Water Plan.
If the referendum passes, the average domestic customer’s annual water bill is expected to rise by $36 a year for five years.
The system improvements, including installing filtration to the Duteau Creek Water Treatment Plant, are expected to help the regional water system comply with regulatory requirements.
“The water is safe in terms of day-to-day operations, but we consider it to be vulnerable to a number of different threats,” says Ivor Norlin with Interior Health. “Until it meets those guidelines and objectives we won’t consider it to be as safe as it should be.”
The issue has civic election candidates taking sides.
Klaus Tribes, who is running to be the next mayor of Vernon, says he will vote no.
He believes elected officials need to take another look at the project.
“Obviously the buck stops with the elected people and we need to take a second look at it. We need to make sure that we are spending tax dollars wisely,” says Tribes.
O’Keefe says she’ll be voting yes.
Vernon mayoral candidates Akbal Mund and Jamie Morrow both plan to vote no on the referendum.
Victor Cumming says he plans to make his stance known at an upcoming public forum.
The future of the region’s water system is now in the hands of voters, who will go to the polls November 15th.
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