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Penticton city council will deliberate the proposed 2024 municipal budget at a series of special meetings this week.
The city is looking at $134.5 million in expenses, and $146.6 million in revenue, the difference between which will go into reserves and capital funding.
A tax increase of 8.7 per cent is also proposed, which takes care of remaining deferred tax hikes from 2022, that were put in place as a temporary relief measure.
That translates to roughly $15 more per month for the average residential taxpayer, and $57 more per month for the average business taxpayer.
A total of $41.3 million is earmarked for capital projects, a significant chunk of which, $12.1 million, will go to water and sanitary sewer network upgrades.
$8.9 million is slated for energy and environment upgrades, and $5.7 million for facilities work including a community centre energy and emissions reductions retrofit.
Council has already pre-approved close to $500,000 in grants for select local non-profits, such as the art gallery and the arts council, and iconic Penticton events like Peach Fest and the farmers market.
The pre-approval is part of a two-year pilot project aimed at streamlining the budget process.
This week, council will consider many more grant requests from local groups and events, totalling $403,303.24.
Castanet will have coverage of the budget process as the week progresses. Deliberations are scheduled to wrap up by Thursday, Nov. 23.
For more on the 2024 proposed budget, click here.
