Council, we are watching

Photo: Contributed

The 2019 West Kelowna, capital, operational, and supplemental full-time employee requests produced financial approvals to be taken to the citizens at a public open house on Feb. 20 at the West Kelowna Lions Hall.

The budget was prepared based on a 3 per cent property tax increase. Almost all recommended items were approved, which included additional reserves of $7.3 million – $700,000 going towards their future City Hall Building.

So our taxes are paying for a City Hall that we do not even have the benefit of using. This is because council refuses to build a City Hall on currently owned city land (Bartley-Stevens 11 acres) and instead wants to purchase more land in what they call the downtown core. Yet this budget had funds remaining to be allocated of about $100,000.

So what did this council do after they learned all of the requests would be totally covered by a 3 percent tax increase with about $100,000 left over? They talked about increasing the tax hike to 3.88 or even 4.88 per cent. 

They voted to increase the tax to 3.88 per cent with no real rationale except they may want to spend it on something, and it’s only a few dollars more for taxpayers.

Council is hoping you're not paying attention. 

Good luck, West Kelowna. Your new council is spending much more of your money than you realize. Contractors, consultants, and staff make mistakes that create cost overruns, and we are expected to simply pay the bill.

Everything the city spends is from taxpayers’ pockets. Did you get a 3.88 per cent increase in your wage or pension? 

R. McLeod, West Kelowna