Salmon Arm council is supporting a tax increase from the Columbia Shuswap Regional District.
Coun. Kevin Flynn asked that his fellow councillors support a tax requisition increase of 13.24 per cent from the CSRD, explaining the majority of the increase can be attributed to the $66,077 the CSRD has budgeted for the rail trail initiative.
“The rail trail will be a legacy that we all can be proud of and I think the increase for that is really – it’s there, we supported it and I think it was an excellent example of collaboration…,” said Flynn, a city director on the CSRD board.
Flynn pointed to a number of increases in this year’s requisition, including a $14,832 hike for administration and IT costs. This, he explained, represents the city’s share for website and audiovisual upgrades that allow people to participate in board meetings via computer.
“Personally, if I was the Golden rep… I don’t want to drive those roads to get to a meeting,” said Flynn.
Salmon Arm’s share for Tourism Shuswap was another notable increase for Flynn, going up by $13,738. Some of this, Flynn said, was for the website, and some for planning.
“I think at this point we should support it, especially in light of the fact that Tourism Shuswap had a significant cut to their Destination BC funding, and they are going back and revisiting their budget, but if they need that to maintain their current plan I think we need to support that,” said Flynn.
For Salmon Arm property owners, a property assessed at approximately $372,000 would see an increase of about $9.50.
In November, following 2018 budget deliberations, Salmon Arm council whittled the city’s proposed tax increase for property owners to 1.53 per cent. This translates to an increase of $23.31 for the owner of a $350,000 residential property. For a $500,000 business, it means paying $91.38 more in taxes.
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