By Lyonel Doherty

Oliver Chronicle

Area C residents will be digging a little deeper to pay their property taxes this year.

That’s because the regional district is asking for more money to maintain services in rural Oliver.

Average taxes per residential property is going up $103, according to the draft budget presented to the public at the Willowbrook fire hall on Monday.

The biggest increase is fire protection in Willowbrook, where costs are going up nearly $147,500.

Community Services Manager Mark Woods said firefighters have to meet new training requirements and standards, resulting in a huge increase in costs.

Woods also noted that firefighters are no longer volunteers but paid employees now.

Finance manager Maureen Hayter said that electoral area administration has increased $31,000, while mosquito control has gone up $29,000. She explained that the 2017 floods resulted in a lot of standing water for mosquitos to breed, therefore, a lot of work was needed to mitigate that. She noted they are anticipating the same situation this year.

Hayter said the other things impacting the budget include the 9-1-1 emergency call system increasing by $8,000, and Venables Theatre increasing by $13,200.

Hayter also mentioned several Area C capital projects funded by reserves and/or grants. These include $500,000 for the Oliver Arena (replacing brine lines, concrete slabs and boards), $63,000 for the pool, $65,000 for parks, and $100,000 for the community hall.

Rural projects funded by gas taxes include Gallagher Lake sewer extension ($978,000) and street lighting ($30,000).

User fees for garbage and recycling remain at $140 per household. The same goes for Gallagher Lake water and sewer, remaining at $663 and $414 per household, respectively.

Hayter noted that Area C assessments are up nearly 15 per cent over last year, compared to Oliver’s 14 per cent.

She pointed out that Area C’s assessment is even more than the eight electoral areas’ average increase of 14.66 per cent. That means rural Oliver is contributing slightly more of the total costs for rural services this year.

Hayter said the average residential property valued at approximately $320,292 will pay about $740 this year. The mill rate is approximately $2.31 per thousand dollars of assessed value.

Residents who have questions or feedback can send them to [email protected].