Kelowna

Kelowna City Council has a rare Thursday sitting.

Council will convene at 8:30 tomorrow (Thursday) morning for its annual, day-long budget deliberation.

Photo: Contributed

Councillors will have the opportunity to go through the $357M provisional budget item by item, line by line.

The provisional budget calls for a total taxation demand of $103.1M, an increase of $3.6M from 2012.

That translates into a 2.54 per cent increase over 2012 taxation levels.

City Financial Director, Keith Grayston, says that works out to a $44.77 increase for the owner of an average $454,000 home.

Grayston says a 1 per cent increase works out to an additional $16.45.

Council does have the ability Thursday to make additions or subtractions to the budget which could affect the final number upward or downward.

A year ago, council was presented with a provisional budget that included a 0.4 per cent tax decrease. Following deliberation day, that number rose to a 0.11 per cent increase.

Upon final approval in May, the 2012 tax increase came in at 1.12 per cent.

Castanet will broadcast the budget deliberations in its entirety and will also provide continual updates on the progress of the budget as they take place inside council chambers.