by Rachael Lesosky
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Valley Voice
During a record four-minute long meeting on May 9, council gave third reading to the 2024-to-2028 Financial Plan, and first, second, and third reading to the Tax Rates bylaw.
Both were set for adoption at the May 14 regular council meeting.
Residential tax rates are increasing by five per cent this year. The 2024 budget is about $7 million, and the Village will collect $782,000 in taxes. The rest of Village revenues in 2024 come from grants (almost $4 million), transfers from reserves and surplus (more than $1 million), water and sewer fees ($551,844), and fees collected from a variety of municipal services, licences and permits.
Residential tax dollars account for 84.5 per cent of the total $782,000 in municipal taxation in Kaslo this year. Business/commercial taxes account for 13 per cent of total municipal tax revenues. Utilities bring in 2.1 per cent; light industry brings in 0.3 per cent; recreation/non-profit 0.1 per cent and farms account for no taxes.
Village taxes make up about 35.6 per cent of its residents’ tax bills. Other taxes on the bills include Regional District of Central Kootenay (30.3 per cent), school (27.1 per cent), police (3.7 per cent), hospital district (2.6 per cent), and the Municipal Finance Authority and British Columbia Assessment Authority (0.6 per cent).
General council policy is to use property taxes for services where a user-pay approach isn’t suitable, and to allocate 10-15 per cent of municipal property tax revenue to capital projects. Where possible, the Village charges user fees to align services with those who use them.
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