Lyonel Doherty
Times-Chronicle
Oliver taxpayers will be paying a little more for regional services this year.
So says RDOS manager of finance Jim Zaffino.
He presented the annual budget to town council Feb. 8 and outlined how Oliver residents will be impacted.
Zaffino said the tax increase will amount to 0.58 per cent or $9,146. Overall, the tax requisition for Oliver this year is $1.5 million.
Zaffino said property assessments in Oliver went up 3.02 per cent, more than the RDOS average of 1.70 per cent. This means the town will bear more of the tax burden for regional services.
Zaffino said the major budget impacts affecting Oliver include:
The 911 emergency call system increasing by $3,312 due to additional administration costs.
Mosquito control increasing $4,798.
Regional trails increasing $2,151 due to a hike in wages and vehicle/equipment costs.
Zaffino noted that transit service has decreased by nearly $8,000. He noted the Sterile Insect Release budget has not been finalized yet.
When all is said and done, taxes per average residential property in Oliver will increase by $13.28 (from $466.86 in 2020 to $480.14 in 2021).
Zaffino’s report shows the tax requisition for Area C is up by $68,000 for total of $2.272 million.
Coun. Dave Mattes asked if the grant-in-aid requests received by the RDOS are funded by the town of Oliver.
“Are we contributing to the Scottish Festival in Penticton?” he asked.
Zaffino said yes, based on assessments.
Mattes responded by saying he’s not sure why Oliver is paying for that.
Mattes also asked what Oliver is getting for its economic development bill of $32,837.
Chief Administrative Officer Cathy Cowan said that would be the town’s contribution to the Oliver Tourism Association.
Zaffino was also questioned why there is such a big jump in Oliver’s municipal debt repayment – from $532,000 to $1.2 million this year.
The finance manager said he would have to research the answer.
John Cote, RDOS accountant, said the local hospital district requisition for Oliver is up five percent ($4,000) to $316,395. Area C is down 3.8 per cent to $247,067.
What? Jim Zaffino has to look up the answer to why the Municipal Debt has doubled!!!! Geeze, maybe they could hire me to do a “study”. Ridiculous! All I know is we have a piece of property up there – No water, No electricity, No Garbage Pick Up, No services what-so-ever, and our yearly taxes continue to increase substantially. Ridiculous. As soon as we move up there for good the first thing I am going to do is apply for the position of Manager of Finance and straighten things out. and cut the fat.