To owners of homes, every cent is crucial
Every year at this time, Kamloops city council meets to set the budget for the year.
At this time, there is always a preliminary residential property-tax increase floated, based on a deep wish list of projects from city departments.
This week, the first budget meeting revealed an initial tax increase of 5.7 per cent, which would mean an extra $92 out of the pockets of the owners of an average-assessed house ($344,000) in Kamloops.
Of course, that 5.7 per cent hike will be chiselled down by council as it meets again and again, including three public-information gatherings at Interior Savings Centre on Feb. 28, March 6 and March 13.
The average residential property-tax increase in Kamloops in the past 10 years has been 2.13 per cent and Mayor Peter Milobar is on record as saying he would like to see this year’s increase to be in that range.
It can be done by identifying funding requests that can be cast aside.
Chief among these can be a $100,000 downtown parking study.
The parking situation downtown has been under enough study. We all know there are not enough spaces and a location is needed for a parkade.
We do not need to spend $100,000 to come to that conclusion.
Another request is $150,000 to celebrate the 200 years since a trading post was built at the Thompson River.
Perhaps that is an amount that can be whittled down in a city still carrying a hefty debt load and in an economy that continues to struggle.
These items, and many more, will be approved, discarded or amended by city council after it meets among its members and with the public.
Make no mistake — every cent is crucial to homeowners who are facing an overwhelming burden of tax increases from all levels of government in 2012.
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