Osoyoos taxpayers are facing a big jump in property taxes to pay for increased policing costs.
Just released census numbers put Osoyoos’s population at 5,085.
Anything above the 5,000 benchmark forces municipalities to pay 70 per cent of their RCMP bill instead of 30 per cent, which last year added up to $387,000 in Osoyoos.
“Presumably, it (policing cost) will be double what we pay right now,” says mayor Sue McKortoff. That would be a good guess.”
The increase almost certainly means a substantial increase in local property taxes.
But the town has money saved to help cushion the financial blow, at least this year.
“We do have $223,000 in reserves for policing,” says McKortoff.
The mayor says the town could create its own municipal police force, but with Osoyoos’s relatively small population, that isn’t a likely option.
In nearby Oliver, the population is 72 people under the 5,000 mark.
But the mayor expects to break that barrier next census so they’re planning ahead for policing costs.
“We should probably start raising taxes knowing that if you’re going down the road to a 40 or 50 per cent hit in your municipal tax base at least you’ve built it up a little bit so you’re part way there,” says Ron Hovanes.
Osoyoos council meets with the RCMP Service Delivery Management Unit later this month to discuss the specifics of the funding model changes.
The new formula takes effect April 1st.
“We’re going to have to pay more, that’s the bottom line,” says McKortoff.
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