The Thompson Regional Hospital District has approved a major increase to hospital taxes to cover a number of big-ticket projects at Royal Inland Hospital, including the Cancer Care Centre.

Taxes will increase by five per cent a year for the next five years – 2024 until 2028 – with the money also going towards building reserves and any future capital requests like the still to be determined Phase 3 of renovations at Royal Inland Hospital.

The total 2024 tax requisition to the TRHD is just over $17.2 million, meaning a house assessed at $680,000 will pay approximately $210.39 in hospital taxes this year. That is a $6.12 increase from the $204.27 they paid in hospital taxes in 2023.

“We have worked to balance the needs of planning for future investments in healthcare for our residents, while planning to keep the taxation increase at a level that is as reasonable as possible,” TRHD Board Chair Mike O’Reilly said, in a statement.

The Hospital District will contribute just over $45 million towards the Cancer Centre – down from the request of $51.6 million.

“That amount is 35 per cent of the costs that the TRHD is required to fund, which include construction of a new parkade, purchase of MRI equipment, and additional upgrades to RIH,” the TRHD said, in statement.

The TRHD board also directed staff to look into using long-term debt to pay those costs for the cancer care centre over a 25-year period.

“[It] includes principal and interest payments over a 25-year term of approximately $3.15 million each year, will have a substantial impact on the hospital district’s ability to maintain a reasonable tax rate for constituents year over year,” a report from staff to the TRHD Board said.

The Hospital District will also contribute $9.2 million for other major capital projects like the new Urgent and Primary Care Centre in North Kamloops, and $1.36 million for a number of minor capital projects valued under $100,000.

“This represents a 37 per cent contribution to capital costs, which is a reduction in taxation from the typical contribution of 40 per cent in past years and is a result of TRHD Board direction in 2023,” the TRHD said, in statement.

Not included in the 2024 budget is an ask from Interior Health to cover $16-million of the $40-million in cost overruns for upgrades to the Emergency Room at RIH. The hospital district says that request would have taken the 2024 hospital tax increase from the current five per cent to 24.5 per cent.

O’Reilly told Radio NL this week that he felt that request was “a step too far.”

“I can tell you when we work the numbers backwards, we would need to be looking at an additional 19.5 percent [tax increase] in 2024,” he said.

“Our residents, like many people in the province, are having a very, very difficult time making ends meet. We have to consider that when we make these large decision.”