After eight hours of deliberations on Thursday, Kelowna City Council settled on the 2024 tax rate increase and the addition of several public safety officers.
Under the preliminary budget for next year, Kelowna residents are faced with a 4.75% increase, which works out to about $9.39 per month for homeowners or $112.75 per year.
This includes the continuation of a one-per-cent public safety levy.
Despite adding four more police officers and two more firefighters than the budget originally called for, plus including $50,000 for a memorial for the men who lost their lives in the 2021 crane collapse, the city kept 0.01% off the proposed 4.76% tax demand.
The preliminary budget for 2024 is pegged at $562.7 million with a total tax demand of $190 million, which funds about 25% of the city’s operating and capital costs.
“Other revenue sources include reserves, grants, and income from user fees including those from self-funding business units such as, Kelowna International Airport, the City’s water and wastewater utilities and solid waste operations,” the city says.
“Development Cost Charge revenue for 2024 will total to $34.9 million and will fund over 30 key infrastructure projects to accommodate growth.”
During the day-long meeting, Kelowna city councillors were able to include the addition of sixteen new RCMP members, six firefighters and six new bylaw officers.
Public safety investments continue to be the city’s largest investment, making up 35% of the general operating budget.
The public safety levy funds five police officers, four firefighters and two bylaw officers.
This will see the addition of one bylaw compliance supervisor, two bylaw officers, two senior officers and, new this year, a dedicated Agricultural Land Commission officer. The two senior positions are funded through the public safety levy and the other four are through taxation.
The budget included 12 police officers as a priority one request while the additional four officers were a priority two request.
However, after hearing how short-staffed the Kelowna RCMP are, operating at about 82% of staffing capacity, councillors voted in favour of moving that priority two requests into the budget.
Supt. Kara Triance said this will allow the city’s Community Safety Unit to better patrol both downtown and Rutland. She noted that those officers will be on duty within about nine months.
Two of those police officers will have no impact on taxation while the other two have an impact of approximately 0.07%.
The budget included an original request for only four new firefighters in 2024, however, after hearing that the downtown firehall saw a 28% increase in calls between 2021 and 2022, council also voted in favour of adding two more positions at a taxation impact of about 0.06%.
As for other items in the budget, the city is investing $20.2 million in transportation infrastructure projects, representing 14.4% of the total capital program.
This includes $4.7 million in maintaining and expanding active transportation networks which includes the Rail Trail to Greenway ATC, an extension of the Abbott Street ATC between Rose and Gyro and an ATC on Lakeshore Road between Lexington and Old Meadows.
That also includes the Betram ATC from Sutherland to Cawston, which will be part of the proposed Bertram pedestrian overpass between downtown and the Central Green apartments.
Transportation infrastructure projects also include $1 million to begin transportation upgrades in preparation for the redevelopment of the Parkinson Recreation Centre Park and $3.9 million for the rail trail to greenway expansion.
Other investments will see the start of some of the city’s “most ambitious capital and infrastructure projects to date” including a suite of recreational facilities, which will see capital investments of $14.3 million.
The 2024 budget also includes $700,000 to see the creation of a new social services function to address homelessness and $35,000 for a comprehensive five-year housing strategy.
To address the council's priority of addressing the climate and environment, the preliminary budget includes $8.9 million to implement initiatives to tackle wildfire and flood mitigation.
Another $400,000 will be used to introduce a new financial incentive program for residents and businesses that participate in renewable and efficiency programs.
Budget carryover requests will be presented to council in March and the financial plan, along with the final tax demand, will be decided by council in April.
To review the 2024 financial plan, feel free to click here.
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