Hospital district moves to make province pay for Sun Rivers, Sienna Ridge residents’ tax share
KAMLOOPS — Taxes collected from residents in Sun Rivers and Sienna Ridge do not get passed along to the Thompson Regional Hospital District (TRHD). Now, the district is sending the bill to Victoria.
The TRHD funds about 40 per cent of capital equipment purchases within its boundaries. It is supported by a portion of taxes taken from thousands of properties in the region, amounting to $16.4 million this year.
However, Sun Rivers and Sienna Ridge, located on the Tk’emlups Reserve, do not pay into that fund. They are subject to the federal government’s Locatee Lease Policy, and the board feels taxes collected via that policy are sufficient.
Chair Mike O’Reilly says the TRHD board has voted to decrease its tax requisition by about $271,000 in 2023, accounting for money that it feels residents of those two communities should be contributing.