Kelowna, Lake Country to hold budget meetings next week

Kelowna and Lake Country City Councils will host a special budget meetings to discuss proposed financial plans.

Kelowna Council will deliberate the preliminary 2025 budget at a special, all-day meeting Thursday, Dec. 5.

The meeting will be held in the Council Chambers and be open to the public, with people also able to tune in through the city’s livestream.

The proposed plan would see the overall tax demand by $108.30 for a single-detached home, or an additional $9.03 per month, which will reflect a 4.36 per cent increase. This increase will include the one per cent Public Safety Levy that was introduced and endorsed in 2023.

The City of Kelowna stated the 2025 Financial plan will mark the second year of service-based budgeting, which is says “organizes spending by what matters to citizens rather than the structure of city departments.”

The top investments prioritized in the budget include community safety, housing supports, active and road transportation, sustainability initiatives, economic development, and digital transformations.

The city noted it also has to address cost pressures that are beyond the municipality’s control, such as emergency services and costs associated with a growing population.

Meanwhile, the District of Lake Country will host a special public budget meeting Tuesday, Dec.3, which will also be open to the public.

The District’s preliminary plan called for a 6.45 per cent increase on the municipal, police and fire portion of taxes. This would translate to an additional $178 yearly tax increase for a single-family home assessed at $1-million.

The District stated in a release that it needed to navigate cost pressures in key areas such as policing, transit and infrastructure, while also addressing operational costs and investing and improving existing services and infrastructure.