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Kimberley to see a 3.9% property tax increase
Kimberley City Council Report
By Nowell Berg
On April 24, City of Kimberley council held its regular bi-monthly meeting.
Councillors Sue Cairns, Jason McBain, Sandra Roberts and Steven Royer were present along with Mayor Don McCormick. Coun. Woody Maguire and Kevin Dunnebacke attended by video call.
An archive of the meeting can be found on the City of Kimberley YouTube channel. Watch it here.
Library Board Requests Budget Increase
Greg Bradley, Chair of the Library Board, presented an over-view of Library operations for 2022. Post-pandemic, Bradley said, “demand for services and programs increased noticeably.”
Bradley noted that “535 new library accounts opened in 2022” which is a 20% increase over 2019 numbers. The average daily circulation is 150 items.
Staff expanded on-site and outreach offerings that included children’s reading time, Lego time, robotic building, technology workshops, craft sessions and public presentations.
As for the library’s budget, Bradley said, “the base provincial operating grant remains unchanged for this year.” Bradley noted that “inflation hit the library budget” and their request is for a 6.5% increase to the city’s library grant.
Given the lateness of the Library Board request, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jim Hendricks noted that the current five-year financial plan only has a 1.5% increase in the library budget. At this time, any increase above that would be funded “from surplus or reserves as tax rates are already set.”
Bradley also said the library received notice of a “one-time provincial enhancement grant of $112,195 to be used over three years, 2023 to 2025,” which he said was “very welcome news for board, staff and patrons.”
This grant provides “more flexibility” for the board, but the money is for special projects and not for operating expenses.
In summing up, Mayor McCormick reassured Bradley, “The library will not be disadvantaged.”
Five-year Financial Plan and Property Tax Increases
CFO Hendricks presented the five-year financial plan and property tax increase.
He noted developing the capital plan was “a challenge this year” given inflation and supply constraints. Due to project cost increases, the city needed to “push some things {capital projects] back a few years.” However, he did say that “some [capital project] prices were coming in lower than expected.”
Council approved a 3.9% increase in all property taxes. Hendricks noted that the average residential dwelling is assessed at $506,000, and that “equates to a $101 increase” on property taxes.
He reported that there was “$32.5 million in construction” over the past year which resulted in “$183,000 in new tax revenue.”
The other big item Hendricks spoke about was the Waste Water Treatment Plant budget, which is now pegged at “$95.2 million” being spent over three years of construction.
The city still has not received notification on its grant request of $69.8 million.
Mayor McCormick said the 3.9% tax increase was achieved through “amazing financial management” by city administration and staff. He noted, “Similar sized communities [around B.C.] are facing tax increases from five to 12%.”
Transit Operating Agreement Approved
Troy Pollock, Manager Planning, requested council approve the annual transit operating agreement. He said there was “no significant change to service levels. Ridership is improving and increasing quite steadily,” but not yet back to pre-pandemic levels.
One-way cash ticket remains at $3 per ride. A book of 10 tickets still costs $27 and children 12 and under ride free.
Total transit cost for the city is $307,531.
Mayor McCormick commented on the Kimberley-Cranbrook commuter bus, saying it “has proven to be a big success until Covid got in the way.”
The Mayor said he’s heard from riders about their concern that when the bus is full in the morning, “they may not get on the bus” for the return trip. This issue affects ridership and he called for a review of the city’s expectations for the transit service
RCMP Retro-Pay Invoice
The city received an invoice for policing service from the RCMP regarding its share of retroactive pay increases as a result of a “collective agreement” from August of 2021.
The amount of the retro-active pay is $218,654.60.
Coun. Roberts expressed her frustration at receiving a bill almost two years later. She said, “It’s good to know we saw it coming. We were informed what it was. We have the money in reserve. I can’t believe its taken so long for them to ask for it.”
“There are a lot of municipalities in the province that are in terrible shape when it comes to addressing this particular issue,” said Mayor McCormick. He added, “Some of the stories out there [of municipalities not able to pay] are pretty ugly.”
Kimberley city council meets twice monthly starting at 7 p.m. The next regular council meeting: May 15.
e-KNOW file photos
e-KNOW
