City council drilling into budget items

JESSICA WALLACE STAFF REPORTER jessica@kamloopsthisweek.com

Kamloops council is considering adding 10 supplemental items to the 2023 budget, which carries a slightly lower preliminary tax increase than originally projected.

On Tuesday, Feb. 14, council’s committee of the whole heard more about a proposal from staff to add $6.9 million in spending, which would pay for more firefighters, more community service (bylaws) officers and a new welcome to Kamloops sign among others.

This past November, the city was faced with closing a $7 million gap between revenues and expenditures — equating to a 5.6 per cent property tax increase — to maintain current service levels before even considering supplemental budget items.

Since then, staff have revised that gap to about $6.3 million — equating to a 4.96 per cent property tax increase — thanks to an $800,000 change in investment income and increases in other revenues seen with 2022 now officially in the books, according to a report for the council committee.

THE ITEMS:

• The city’s community services (bylaws) department is asking for $888,000 in ongoing funding to pay for an additional

6.7 full-time staff and to convert

5.3 existing part-time officers to full-time status due to increasing demands on the role.

• Kamloops Fire Rescue is asking for $100,000 in capital funding to complete needed renovations at Firehall No. 4 in Westsyde and an ongoing $1.04 million annually for an increase of 10 full-time staff to address staffing shortfalls at the facility.

• City staff are requesting five new vehicles for community service officers due to increased demand on the job. The city is also asking for four trucks to be added to the parks department to replace an aging quartette at a total capital cost of $670,000 for 2023. Another $120,000 a year is being requested to hire an additional mechanic to its current complement of 12 to service the vehicles.

• City staff propose phasing in over the next five years a funding pool for the introduction and maintenance of boulevard and streetscape beautification projects in the city, starting with $350,000 in 2023, followed by half-million dollar contributions each year from 2024 to 2027. Work would include trees, horticulture, irrigation, pathway and lighting improvements.

• City staff want to take out a $2.3-million loan in 2024 to upgrade the intersection of Pacific Way and the Highway 1 off-ramp. The proposal is to twin the left-hand turn lane coming off the highway that turns south onto Pacific Way from Hugh Allan Drive to address increased traffic. McElhanney Consulting Services Ltd. provided the city with a cost estimate of $2.3 million to complete the infrastructure project. The municipality made a commitment to the Ministry of

Transportation and Infrastructure in 2015 to complete the project within a 10-year time frame as a condition for approval of the Cascades Casino development.

• City staff are requesting $600,000 for 2027 to twin the left-hand turn lane from Summit Drive onto the Highway 1 on-ramp, which will also need to be expanded due to projected traffic increases in 2026. The expansion project would involve relocating a sidewalk on the west side of Summit Drive and building a retaining wall. The cost would be about $4.2 million, with $3.6 million being covered by development cost charges.

• The North Shore Business Improvement Association (NSBIA) is asking the city to provide $250,000 in ongoing funding, starting in 2023, to create a fund for “public realm improvements” on the North Shore, over and above the city’s regular capital upgrades plans.

The NSBIA envisions the fund helping to improve benches, replace and expand garbage bin locations and services, replace derelict planter boxes and add public art and other beautification projects in North Kamloops.

• Venture Kamloops is asking the city for $100,000 to conduct two research reports — $50,000 each in 2023 and 2024. The studies would provide updates on economic data for Kamloops.

• A request for a marquee welcome sign in Kamloops has been requested by Tourism Kamloops and Communities in Bloom. The sign would be funded via a grant, donations and gambling funds at a cost of $150,000. Its location is yet to be determined, but its proponents request a prominent, visible site in the city, with installation happening preferably before the Memorial Cup tournament begins on May 26.

• The Kamloops Cycling Coalition is asking the city to accelerate the creation of cycling infrastructure identified in the Kamloops Transportation Master Plan. The group wants infrastructure completed in 10 years, rather than the 20-year time frame listed in the 2018 plan.

The proposal would involve the city squirrelling away $1 million a year. To meet the time frame identified in the request, the current annual active transportation funding would need to be increased to $7.5 million from the current level of $2.5 million.

Following a public budget forum at McArthur Island Sport and Event Centre on Feb. 15, at 7 p.m., the council committee of the whole will deliberate and vote on the inclusion of each item on March 7.

After the committee of the whole’s direction is made, the final budget and 2023 property tax rates will be presented to council for approval and implementation in advance of the May 15 deadline.

According to the city, high inflation, more competition for employees and supply chain issues have all contributed to the funding gap in the provisional budget.