Image Credit: CFJC Today

By James Peters

2020 City Budget

City of Kamloops to hold budget consultation Thursday evening

Feb 20, 2020 | 11:40 AM

KAMLOOPS — The public has been invited to give its input to the City of Kamloops 2020 budget Thursday evening (Feb. 20).

A public meeting will be held to discuss the core budget, which includes a provisional 2.76 per cent property tax increase, along with 11 proposed supplemental budget items.

While that tax increase has been proposed, there is still a lot of input needed before council settles on a final number, according to Mayor Ken Christian.

“Now we are adjudicating the supplemental items – the wish list, both from administration and from the public,” Christian told CFJC’s Balance of Power. “We’ll get that in and then we’ll get our numbers from B.C. Assessment to tell us what growth there has been in the city. And then finally, we’ll have the previous year surplus.

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“I’ve always said, when we come out with that initial number, that there’s a sticker shock associated with that, and people shouldn’t get too upset because it does move,” added Christian. “We have the opportunity, in terms of some of the wish list, to defer that, and there’s also the opportunity to use other sources of funding other than tax increases – things like (Climate Action Revenue Incentive Program) grants and gaming funds and those kinds of things that are often available for certain types of projects.”

Tonight’s meeting is set for 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Sandman Centre’s Valley First Lounge.

“It’s an exercise that’s an important one in terms of the governance of the city and something that this council takes very seriously because we do pride ourselves on being an affordable city,” said Christian. “You can’t have these seven and eight per cent tax increases like some of our neighbouring communities are having and still have that sense of affordability here in Kamloops.”