By Lexi McFarlane, Times Chronicle

The Regional District of Okanagan and Similkameen (RDOS) budget was presented to both Oliver and Osoyoos councils last week, which spelled increases in taxes for both Area A (rural Osoyoos) and Area C (rural Oliver).

The presentation came at the beginning of the January 12 Committee of the Whole (CoW)  meeting, and focused on the RDOS’s 2026 budget, part of their 2026-2030 Financial Plan. 

Budget discussions do include taxation discussions, though ultimately the RDOS, like other regional districts, is not a taxing authority, and the areas and municipalities collect taxes on the RDOS’s behalf. 

Nearly every jurisdiction within the RDOS saw increases to their requisition amounts, and as a result taxation per capita numbers. The Oliver section (Area C) of the RDOS budget was the only one to see decreases from 2025 numbers in those regards. 

For Electoral Area A, the 2026 budget requisition amount is $1,929,359, an increase of $181,026, or 10 per cent, from the 2025 number. In Electoral Area C, the increase was more modest, as their 2026 requisition amount is $2,724,926, up by $52,103, or 1.9 per cent, from 2025 levels. 

The difference was also noticeable in the non-market growth percentage. Non-market growth refers to the increase in the tax base from new development, bringing in new “contributors” to ease the burden on existing taxpayers. 

Electoral Area A saw the fourth-highest growth in this category of any RDOS area, and the third-highest among Electoral Areas, with a 1.84 per cent non-market growth figure. Electoral Area C, meanwhile, only saw a non-market growth of 0.9 per cent in the 2026 RDOS budget.

The taxation per-capita rates also increased in the 2026 RDOS Budget for both Electoral Areas A and C. Electoral Area A rose 11 per cent from $812.76 in the 2025 budget to $901.99 in 2026, while Electoral Area C had a more muted rise, going up from $491.20 to $503.50, or 2.5 per cent. 

Only one program change request (PCR) included either Electoral Area, with a request for Community Parks in rural Osoyoos; the full-time equivalent amount of $10,000 for this category was approved in the 2026 RDOS Budget. 

Electoral Area C, and the Town of Oliver saw multiple new capital projects addressed as part of the 2026 budget. The Arena, Pool, Recreation Hall, and Parks for Oliver and Electoral Area C all saw allocated funding. 

The Arena has an amount of $76,348 earmarked for it, the vast majority of which will come from the RDOS’s Capital Reserve. Oliver Pool saw an allocation of $61,048, likewise being almost entirely from the Capital Reserve. 

The Recreation Hall and the Parks system are both big-ticket items by comparison, totalling $306,319 and $278,193, respectively. Most of their costs have to do with one aspect each; in the case of the Recreation Hall, it centres on a kitchen renovation to significantly improve its standards, with its $275,000 price tag being fulfilled through the Growing Communities Fund. 

A new play structure in the South part of Lion’s Park accounts for most of the Parks costs, and its requirement of $250,000 is covered by the Area C Community Works Fund (80 per cent) and grant money (20 per cent).

The numbers for Electoral Areas A and C reflect the broader picture of the 2026 RDOS Budget, which grew from an overall total of $110.1 million in 2025 to $115.8 million for 2026. 

The total requisition amount for the 2026 RDOS Budget was $29.56 million, an increase of $1.76 million from 2025, while non-market growth year-over-year was 1.47 per cent. 

The Lion’s Park upgrade, likely to be a pump track, isn’t fully set in stone yet, as Councillor Terry Schafer alluded to at the CoW meeting. 

“That still has to go to the public, correct?” Schafer asked. Director of Parks and Recreation, Carol Sheridan, confirmed that to be the case. 

“We’re just about to go into Phase 1 of community engagement about what kind of amenity we would be adding to the park,” Sheridan said. 

No votes were required for this presentation by Council.