There are too many variables at stake to know exactly what the final figure will be, but Town of Osoyoos Mayor Sue McKortoff and members of town council agree any tax increase for 2015 will be very modest.
McKortoff, who became mayor following the municipal election last November after serving one three-year term on council, and the four councillors officially began budget deliberations Tuesday morning at the Sonora Community Centre.
Three of the four councillors – Jim King, Mike Campol and Carol Youngberg – are newcomers to the budget process, while veteran incumbent C. J. Rhodes has been through the process on numerous occasions as he begins his third term in office.
All of the town’s department directors and Chief Administrative Officer Barry Romanko were scheduled to meet with McKortoff and members of council all day Tuesday and all day Wednesday as 2015 budget deliberations begin in earnest.
McKortoff reiterated while she can’t predict what kind of tax increase would be approved by council following the budget process, she made it very clear any increase would be modest.
“We passed a 1.7 per cent increase, which was only a couple of dollars per month for most homeowners, and it would be my hope we can come in around that number once again this year,” she said. “We have to look at everything carefully and come up with something that is fair and affordable.”
There is “no way” any significant increase over two per cent would be acceptable considering this is a community with many seniors on fixed incomes, said McKortoff.
McKortoff and all four councillors participated in a strategic plan with Romanko and other senior members of town administration a couple of weeks ago and they each identified certain projects and priorities they would like to see completed in 2015.
“The strategic planning session was very helpful as each of us were asked to identify what we think is important and areas we would like to see improvements in within the town as part of the budget sessions,” said McKortoff. “We will each have different ideas on what we think is most important to the town.
“Our job is to look at all projects on the books and look at our five-year capital plan and decide which projects should move ahead this year and which might have to be put off until next year or the following year.”
Now entering her fourth year in municipal politics, McKortoff said she fully realizes how important it is to complete numerous infrastructure projects each year and that won’t change this year.
The Town of Osoyoos is blessed to have experience and knowledgeable senior administrators like Romanko and Jim Zakall, the director of financial services, who repeatedly do a wonderful job in putting the budget document together and making solid recommendations on which projects should proceed each year, said McKortoff.
“To do every project that needs to be done, we would be looking at a 20 per cent increase in taxes and that’s obviously not something any of us are willing to consider,” she said. “That means we have to prioritize and be very careful about what projects we do complete. We’re blessed in this town to have outstanding senior staff who know what they’re doing and know what needs to be done. This is a very well run organization.”
Even though he doesn’t have any experience at the municipal government level, King said he has been involved in numerous non-profit boards and agencies throughout the years and is looking forward to being involved in the budget process for the first time.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” he said. “There are 300 or 400 pages we have to pour through and there’s a lot of information we have to process, but all of the members of council were asked to identify areas they would like to see improvements on during the strategic planning session and I’m confident staff will include many of these ideas during the budget sessions.”
Like any municipality, more than 70 per cent of the annual budget is taken up through salaries and benefits to the town’s employees, said King.
How the other 20 to 30 per cent of the town budget is spent comes down to prioritizing needs and projects, while balancing the fact tax increases must be kept at low as possible, he said.
“Once you spend some money on water and sewer and road projects that are at the top of the list, there’s not a lot left to spend,” he said. “Our job is to identify that major projects that need to be completed this year and go from there.”
Campol said he’s also looking forward to participating in his first budget deliberations over the coming weeks.
Passing the annual budget is one of the most important tasks undertaken by any municipal politician and it’s a task he won’t take likely, said Campol.
“I’m sort of what you would call a numbers nerd, so I’m really looking forward to the process,” he said. “I’ve been involved in running my own businesses and budgets for many years now, so I really feel comfortable in the process, although this is obviously on another level because you’re looking to spend taxpayer dollars as wisely as possible.”
The Town of Osoyoos doesn’t carry any debt load and previous town councils have done a good job in keeping tax increases to a reasonable level, said Campol.
He has doubt the new council will be able to pass a budget that ensures many big projects get completed, while keeping any tax increase to a reasonable level in or around two per cent.
The fact there are three new councillors participating in their first budget process is exciting, he said.
“I think we’ll bring new ideas and fresh thinking to the process,” he said.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
