Kamloops Council has the 2025 proposed tax increase now set at 9.03%.
That figure was updated after Tuesday’s Committee of the Whole meeting saw council go through the eight supplemental budget items.
Prior to any supplemental budget items being considered, residents were set to face an 8.42% tax hike.
Among the big ticket items approved during the supplemental budget discussion was to transform Kamloops Fire Rescue Station 6 to a full-time hall, with staffing and a new physical fire hall for the Dallas area.
Councillor Bill Sarai says the city should be proactive when it comes to firefighting capacity. “We need to get that pool of firefighters, not only to get this hall operational, but also to identify the retirement that’s going to happen. So we’re actually being proactive on two fronts here, and we’ll have the people that are trained and ready to go when we’re ready to man this hall.”
The largest rejection from council came in response to a proposal for a Protective Services Training Centre adjacent to the existing KFR fire training centre, with council looking for provincial support on the idea. Councillor Nancy Bepple says had some worry about what the real benefit would be for Kamloopsians. “There’s a talk of providing regional needs, but my concern is that the taxpayers of Kamloops would be absorbing the costs of the regional training. Now, we may get some revenue from external users, but in the past, the training center that we have had, it has consistent in terms of the money that we have received.”
Bike valets and public cooling amenities were among the added items. Both will be funded through the Community Climate Action Fund reserve.
The cooling amenities include building up to 10 misting stations. City staff say Interior Health will be consulted prior to purchasing and installing misting stations, including site selection. “We also have to consider, where’s their potable water available. You know, we’re certainly considered security because we’re like you we certainly don’t want to see these to be vandalized, they’ll also be removed every winter so they’ll only be during the hottest months of the year.”
Other items that were added to the budget include bringing more security services in-house at a cost just under $1 million per year. The city will hire 10 more community service officers between 2025 and 2028. Funds will be offset with the removal of security contracts.
Council also agreed to spend $50,000 to set up an operations centre at 340 Victoria St. The location is presently used as an office for Community Services Officers. It will operate on a24/7 basis and will be used to collect and monitor all CCTV footage from all city-owned cameras to enhance security in the city.
The 2025 budget will be come forward for adoption at a regular council meeting next month.
