Taxpayers who live in the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) and will benefit from the $325-million expansion of the Penticton Regional Hospital (PRH) will be asked to pay almost $100 per household in 2015 if the RDOS draft budget is passed before the end of March.
Sandy Croteau, the director of finance for the RDOS, said taxpayers who live within the regional district will be paying $122-million of the $325-million expansion of PRH and that means every property owner in the region will have to pay their fair share.
“The average cost per household for the Okanagan Similkameen Regional Hospital District budget will be $96 … that’s up from $91 per average household this past year,” said Croteau, during a presentation to Town of Osoyoos council on Monday,
The total hospital district budget for 2015 is $16.17 million, up from $15.717 million in 2014, with 5.535 million of that total raised through tax requisition and $10.355 million coming in transfers from reserve funds, said Croteau.
When it comes to general services and programs, RDOS taxpayers will be facing very marginal increases in the 2015 budget, said Croteau.
The RDOs budget is broken down into 137 separate services and every one of them is self-sustaining and only those who benefit from the services are asked to pay the costs, she said.
Under provincial regulations, the RDOS budget must be passed and adopted by March 31.
The RDOS operating expenses in 2015 will actually decrease from $27.7 million to $27.2 million in 2015 and capital expenditures are expected to drop form $12.4 million in 2014 to $9.8 million this year, she said.
Regional services provided to all ratepayers in the RDOS, which includes six towns and between Osoyoos and Summerland and 12 regional districts, include general government, solid waste management plans, 911 emergency system, emergency planning and regional trails.
The joint services shared with Area A taxpayers who live in the rural district outside the Town of Osoyoos, include the Osoyoos Museum and Sun Bowl Arena, she said.
Considering all service changes, the proposed budget indicates an increase of $37,000 to $217,000 for 2015 or $4 per average household, said Croteau.
The 2015 estimated tax rate increase would be $147 per household or 51 cents for $1,000 estimated assessment value, she said.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
