By Lyonel Doherty
Oliver Chronicle
Death and taxes are a certainty. So is the fact the Town of Oliver will be paying the regional district more money this year.
That was apparent on Tuesday when RDOS finance manager Maureen Hayter presented Town council with the 2018 draft budget.
The tax requisition that Oliver must pay to the RDOS this year is up nearly $23,000 for a total of $1.26 million.
That means the estimated tax rate for Oliver residents is $1.26 per $1,000 of assessment, with Hayter noting that the average residential homeowner will pay $416 in taxes, an increase of $11.49 from last year.
Hayter said Oliver assessments are up 14.17 per cent this year, more than the RDOS average of 13.55 per cent.
She noted that Oliver has to pay more for the 9-1-1 emergency service ($189), general government ($176), illegal dumping ($295), and transit ($223).
Overall, the 9-1-1 system is increasing $6,063 due to infrastructure upgrades.
Emergency planning costs are going up $2,362 due to establishing two management positions in 2018 instead of one. These positions include an emergency management coordinator and a fire services supervisor.
“It’s to better serve fire departments . . . better oversight placed on fire services,” Hayter said.
She pointed out that dealing with illegal dumping will also cost more.
“Over the past year we’ve had a number of complaints regarding illegal dumping,” she said. (This resulted in additional staff time and contracts to clean up these messes.)
Mosquito control costs are also increasing, she added. This is primarily due to last year’s flooding.
Hayter said the regional district is looking at a $500,000 capital expense to upgrade the Oliver Arena (funded by gas taxes and municipal contribution). Brine lines, concrete slab and boards have to be replaced, she pointed out.
The community pool needs $63,000 in improvements, such as a technical assessment and boiler replacement.
Oliver parks are slated for improvement as well – $65,000 worth. This includes an irrigation upgrade, new flooring/venting, dugout extensions, and phase 2 of the new off-leash area in Lion’s Park.
Hayter said the community hall needs $100,000 worth of upgrades, too, including office renovation, enhanced security system and technical assessment.
Hayter said one option for arena upgrade funding is for Area C to pay $250,000 (through community gas taxes), and the Oliver municipality to contribute $250,000.
Hayter said the impact that the Okanagan Similkameen Regional Hospital District will have on local residents is an increase of $5 per year. For example, the average residential property valued at $342,000 will pay $111 this year, compared to $106 last year.
