Property owners in the Town of Osoyoos and Area A of the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) will see a marginal increase of a few dollars to pay for the local share of the RDOS budget for 2014.

Sandy Croteau, finance manager for the RDOS, made a presentation to Town of Osoyoos council last week stating how the RDOS budget remains stable from year to year with only inflationary and contract increases being allowed and any changes to the 135 services offered having to be approved by the board during budget deliberations.

Even though there will be some substantial changes in various departments in 2014 – such as paying $1.6 million for a new 911 system for the RDOS formulating a new plan to help pay for future upgrades of the Penticton Regional Hospital – at the end of the day, local taxpayers will see a proposed marginal increase that will result in a fee of $164 per household in Osoyoos, said Croteau.

Each of the 135 services offered in the RDOS has its own self-sustaining budget and the budget process allows the previous year’s baseline budget to move forward with only inflationary and contract increases considered, she said.

“Services have little room to mitigate any substantial increase,” she said.

The draft budget that was presented to council on Monday was approved one week before Christmas and must be adopted by the RDOS board by March 31, said Croteau.

Property owners in Area A near Osoyoos are responsible for a joint agreement with the RDOS to pay for the operation of the Sun Bowl Arena and the servicing of the debt for the new Osoyoos Museum, said Croteau.

They will also have to pay their share of the $1.6-million for the new 911 infrastructure project.

Once the entire budget is approved, the projected increase in RDOS operating expenses for 2014 is $27.7 million, or $100,000 more than last year, she said.

When this is divided among all RDOS ratepayers, the increase is only a few dollars per household, she said.

Almost 50 per cent of the $164 in property taxes charged to Osoyoos and Area A ratepayers goes to pay for the cost of operating the Sun Bowl Arena.

Almost 14 per cent goes to help pay the costs of administration to operate the RDOS, almost 17 per cent to other boards and just over eight per cent to help service the debt of the new Osoyoos Museum, which is expected to begin construction in 2016.

The Okanagan Similkameen Regional Hospital District is also paid for entirely by RDOS ratepayers and the amount of taxes to operate that budget will increase from $4.9 million in 2013 to a projected $5,035 million in 2014.

The total contribution of Town of Osoyoos and Area ratepayers to the overall RDOS budget is $645,000, which translates to the charge of $164 per household, she said.

Mayor Stu Wells asked Croteau if Osoyoos continues to have the highest property tax assessments in the regional district and she confirmed that is the case.

This means Osoyoos ratepayers pay a higher percentage of fees charged to the RDOS as all money collected is based on assessment values, said Wells.

“Those are the rules and that’s what we have to abide by,” said Croteau. “Unfortunately, population doesn’t play into this at all. It’s all based on assessment values.”

Wells said he thinks a better system would be one that combines property assessment values with population.

“I see an inherent unfairness” with the current system, said Wells.

Croteau said she doesn’t make the rules, but the RDOS board has always operated on the concept that assessment is the fairest way to impose taxes as “those who have more can afford to pay more.”

KEITH LACEY

Osoyoos Times