By Lexi McFarlane, Times Chronicle
The Town of Oliver finalized a five-year plan that sees rate increases across the board, including water and sewer utility rates and parcel taxes, pushing an average increase of $244 to $1,372.10 for an average home this year, up 21.6 per cent over last year.
The draft 2026-2030 Financial Plan was presented to Council at a Special Open Council meeting on Monday, with the pubic comment period now open until Mar. 12.
This draft plan includes Council feedback and revisions to the original copy, first presented back in October 2025. First, second and third readings were given for the draft Financial Plan on November 17, and through two separate meetings in December, other components, such as the utility rate and parcel tax bylaws, were adopted into the overall Financial Plan.
John Kurvink, Chief Financial Officer for the town, presented the plan to Council while also noting a “worked-in” property tax increase of 8 per cent from 2027 to 2030, and a 1 per cent increase under the “government services” category.
The 2026 Operating Budget for the Town of Oliver, as presented, sits at $21.2 million, up by over three million dollars from the 2025 figure of $17.84 million.
Just over $9 million of that figure is pegged for general operating expenses, while a $3.66 million share of the budget covers Water Operating profiles. General Capital and Water Capital expenses take up $3.09 million and $2.39 million, respectively, while the Sewer side of the budget requires a total of just over $3 million, with $1.74 million for Operating and $1.28 million for Capital.
A significant reason for the higher cost of the 2026 budget compared to 2025 is the number of one-time expenditures due in 2026. In addition to municipal elections taking place this year, the implementation of a new asset management system for the Town’s operations, along with a Development Cost Charges Update (DCC) are adding to an already-large slate of projects.
Within the five-year Financial Plan, a breakdown is included of revenues versus expenses. The majority of the extra revenue for the 2026 budget comes from government transfers, including a $176,000 housing grant from the provincial Municipal Affairs Ministry for the DCC. Kurvink noted the DCC also has the potential for “better cost recovery” in future fiscal years.
The result of the draft budget to this point would be an average tax bill of $1,372.10, up roughly $244 from the year prior, although Mayor Martin Johansen stated a desire to know, for future reference, how much certain businesses would pay and how much certain homeowners would pay.
“It would be interesting, in business, to see what the largest business – how much theirs would be increasing by,” Johansen said. “Because I know there’s some that are paying considerably more (than average). And so are we talking a five, or six, thousand dollar increase for those businesses?”
A noteworthy aspect about the average $244 tax bill increase is that one of the things the higher revenue would be used for appeared to be to replenish the General Reserve with over $660,000 in funding. However, later on, it was noted that a large portion of this number was also tied to operating cost increases; specifically, an amount of roughly $400,000.
Kurvink later explained that not all of the reserve benefits would be realized right away, due to the one-time expenditures.
The operating cost increases appeared to some to be given in a confusing manner, which some Councillors, such as Water Councillor Rick Machial suggested improvements to for streamlining.
“It would be good for Council to see (exactly) where it all came from,” Machial said. “Say, ‘here’s 30 lines that contribute to $400,000. It’s a lot easier for Council to see that right in front of them, than to try and jump around all over the place.”
Further along in the discussion, Councillor David Mattes stated a desire to see a “user fee” included for the Oliver Municipal Airport, saying that just the leases don’t go far enough to help out the Town.
“I still would like to see some time invested by Staff to see if other places do it, but I would like to see a line (in the budget) that says ‘user fee’,” Mattes said. “The people that are storing their airplanes (there) and using our airport should be contributing more than just the lease for the space.”
Johansen lamented that the tax and operating cost increases would be a tough pitch in the current economic climate.
“It’s a significant increase to cover the increase in operational costs, and make a small increase in contribution to reserves,” Johansen said. “Which is a different story, and I think a harder one to sell.”
Ultimately, Councillor Petra Veintimilla both supported the budget while empathizing with the sentiment that the tax increases would be challenging to navigate.
“I buy into the concept that we should be able to afford to do one major project a year, and if we get a grant for it, that’s awesome, but we need to maintain what we have,” Veintimilla explained.
“Nobody likes tax increases. But we all live in town, and we all have to pay them just like everyone else does.”
Councillor Terry Schafer concurred. “It is pretty vivid, what has to happen,” Schafer stated. “I’m just encouraged a little bit by hearing that residents can (at least) pay monthly for their taxes. It would benefit a lot of people.”
Councillor Aimee Grice said that the upcoming Public Feedback period would be a key component for completing this budget process.
“Messaging to the community is going to be vital here,” Grice said. “Having a one- or two-page summary of the budget that’s easy to digest would go a long way.”
Machial voiced concern for Oliver businesses, especially along the Main Street corridor, who struggled last year.
“That’s one thing Council should look at. It’s tough; you talk to any businessperson, and [they’ll tell you] their income went down last year. People just don’t have the money to spend.”
Council’s eventual decision was to accept the budget as presented. The Public Feedback stage of the budget process will be active until March 12.
