Kamloops council has been given its first look at revised budget figures, which are pointing to tax hit next year of well over 9%.
A report reviewed by council’s Committee of the Whole on Tuesday has put forward a preliminary budget which will require a 9.67% property tax increase.
This is up by around 1% from an earlier projection by the City’s budget director, as increased costs for labour contracts and BC Transit services being pointed to as the main driver behind the increase.
Corporate Services Director Dave Hallinan says while this could translate to a hit of around $250 more per year for the average home owner, he notes nothing has been finalized.
“As I’ve said, we’re not done yet. We’re still working through some things,” said Hallinan. “We’re still working with our partners like BC transit and RCMP, to dig into a little bit of the cost that they’re providing to us, so we can understand better. Coming into the end of 2024, we’ll start to look at whether or not the revenue trends that we’re seeing on other areas of city revenues are trending better than what we’re expecting and what we’re anticipating.”
Kamloops council has sent its staff back to the drawing board to try to find more areas where savings could be found.
A public information session is set for Wednesday, November 20th, at the Kia Lounge inside Sandman Centre starting at 6:00 pm.
It will include opportunities to chat with Council and senior staff and to participate in a survey.
RCMP costs of concern
Policing was a major discussion topic during the initial budget presentation to council on Tuesday.
Council has given tentative approval to hire five more officers for the Kamloops RCMP detachment, which comes with a cost of more than $1.2 million.
The overall RCMP budget for Kamloops is currently projected to increase by 9% next year.
Councillor Katie Neaustaeter has suggested the court system is partly to blame, arguing the RCMP in Kamloops is being forced to deal with repeat offenders, which requires more police on the streets.
“This should be disturbing to everyone,” said Neustaeter. “We’re playing just under $800 per year per citizen, just for RCMP and policing. We should all feel incredibly safe. That is not the sentiment of the community right now. That is not the reality of the calls that are being put in right now.”
Meanwhile, Councillor Nancy Bepple took time on Tuesday to argue that more money should be going toward preventative services, rather than policing.
“I guess my concern is that if we added ten new police [officers] every year, we wouldn’t be that much safer,” argued Bepple. “Things that make a safe community are things like the Boys and Girls Club. It’s A Way Home [Kamloops]. It’s the shelter space for women that are fleeing violence. I don’t see that we have increased those at the same pace as we’re increasing the police budget.”
Other changes to the revised 2025 Kamloops budget include:• a new labour agreement signed in 2024 with the National Police Federation with contractual increases for 2024 and 2025 of 4.0%
• cost increases of approximately $17,000/member on the current base of 138 roadable members resulting in a $1.77 million increase for 2025
• body worn cameras issued to front-line members in 2024 expected to add $225,000 annually
• new equipment including hard body armour and firearm replacement initiatives planned, with a cumulative impact of approximately $760,000 to budgeted contract costs
• administrative allocation from E Division increases from $27,000/member in 2020/2021 to $49,000/member in 2025/26, an 81% increase, resulting in a $3.15 million increase in the administrative cost allocation
