New cops to hit Vernon taxpayers’ pocketbooks
VERNON, B.C. — Six new RCMP officers approved by the last city council are now going to hit Vernon taxpayers in the pocketbook.
The City of Vernon’s Chief Administrative Officer Will Pearce has told council that a 1.41 percent increase in the 2019 budget is necessary to “fill the hole forever” now that reserve money has been used up.
He says the new officers and taxation funding for one RCMP position previously established in the 2016 budget requires new tax revenues in the order of $1.2 million and saw the RCMP budget jump 14 percent year-over-year.
Overall, council has been presented with a proposed 5.57 percent tax increase in next year’s budget.