West Kelowna council sets tax rate increase at 6.85%

West Kelowna, B.C., city council has adopted its 2024 budget, pegging its tax increase at 6.85 per cent.

According to a city press release, the hike reflects a core tax increase of 5.24 per cent to maintain existing services. The total increase of 6.85 per cent, however, also covers inflationary costs, including software licensing, and addresses “negotiated wages for firefighters, police officers and general staff who provide core services and deliver daily needs to our community.”

The budget also accounts for additional resources to address housing needs and changes to provincial legislation, with funding to come from reserves for 2024 and further funding considerations to be given in the fall during council’s 2025 budget deliberations.

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The total 2024 capital budget is $32.2 million, with $22.7 million funded from reserves, $6.1 million from development cost charges and $3.4 million from debt and grants.

Projects earmarked for the year include the Shannon Lake Road multi-use pathway from Swite to Westbank First Nation, a roundabout at Shannon Lake and Asquith roads, and the road rehabilitation program that’s rising to $2.1 million from $1.2 million in 2023, funded from grants and capital reserves.

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Other projects funded by grants and infrastructure reserves include the yearly pedestrian infrastructure improvement program, multi-use pathway connections, and Mount Boucherie Community Centre restoration and renovation to add daycare facilities and return space to community uses.

The purchase of a combined ladder and pump fire truck, called a quint, as well as funding the remaining $6.3 million required toward the Fire Hall No. 32 replacement project is also accounted for.

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The borrowing of up to $8 million for the Fire Hall #32 Replacement Project, which results in no new tax increases to the West Kelowna community, was approved by council in the 2023 budget, subject to the alternative approval process receiving elector assent, which was confirmed in March 2024, staff said in the press release.

The city’s assessment growth of 1.5 per cent last year resulted in additional revenue of $623,455, which was used to reduce the tax burden and help with increased transfers to reserves.