'We have to stop spending': West Kelowna blowing through capital reserve accounts

'We have to stop spending'

Photo: City of West Kelowna

Improvements to the intersection at Butt and Old Okanagan Highway was one of several capital projects completed in West Kelowna in 2025

The City of West Kelowna is in dire need of propping up its reserve accounts as it looks to fund projects within its 10-year capital plan.

As it sits today, acting chief financial officer Lisa Siavashi says several projects have already been removed from funded to unfunded as capital reserves continue to shrink.

In order to prop them up, she is suggesting council consider adding two per cent to the 2026 budget, a one per cent increase to capital reserves and one per cent to infrastructure reserves.

That is in addition to the one per cent infrastructure levy already on the books.

A one per cent tax increase works out to $490,000 in city revenue, meaning the city would add nearly $1 million to its reserves if council agrees to the proposed new increase.

Without the increase, Siavashi says capital and infrastructure reserves would “dive to negative balances.”

“If these increases were not approved, staff would need to push more capital projects to the unfunded schedule from 2027 to 2030,” she said.

“If the increases are postponed to 2027, there still would be projects that need to be moved off the 10-year plan as well as delaying any assistance for reserve balances.”

Siavashi says the total projected reserve balance at the end of the year is expected to be $14 million. The city started the year with a balance of $44 million.

Ideally, she said, the ending budget would be sufficient to fund the requests for the upcoming year with a reasonable balance left to fund unexpected needs.

“Requests for 2026 are $16.8 million with $14 million being funded from reserves.”

“Total transfers out for 2026 of $14 million is slightly higher than the transfers in of $13.5 million”

Siavashi says that theme of more going out than coming in has been a trend of past budgets and continues into the future, meaning reserves barely stay at a minimum, let alone growing to cover the necessary asset replacement.

Coun. Rick de Jong said it's a trend that needs to stop.

“We are leaving a legacy for future councils by going beyond and taking out of reserves more than we are putting in,” said de Jong.

“We need to be putting into reserves more than we are taking out or we are never going to build those balances and build those healthy targets that we have identified we want.

“We have to stop spending.”

The additional reserve levy will be discussed as part of the overall budget deliberations scheduled Dec. 3 and 4.