Small B.C. community approves 17% property tax hike, mostly to pay for police

A small community in B.C.'s Central Okanagan has passed a budget that includes a property tax increase of more than 17 per cent, primarily due to rising policing calls.

Council of the District of Lake Country, located immediately north of Kelowna, passed the second and third readings of its five-year financial plan on Thursday.

The tax hike is largely due to the fact the district's population recently surpassed 15,000 people, meaning it now has to cover 90 per cent of policing costs rather than the 70 per cent it was paying before, according to Chief Financial Officer Trevor James.

"The significant increase in policing costs is another example of some of the expanding responsibilities and therefore costs we face as a growing community," James said in a written statement.

B.C.'s Police Act requires the province to pay for policing in communities with a population under 5,000, but larger communities must either establish their own municipal police force or sign a contract with the province for RCMP services.

Police services agreements made between provincial and municipal governments require municipalities with a population between 5,000 and 15,000 to pay 70 per cent of the cost for RCMP services. Those with a population greater than 15,000 pay 90 per cent.

According to the financial plan, the municipality proposes to increase its property tax for 2023 by 17.05 per cent, including a 12.83 per cent increase to cover policing costs, loss of fire contract with the City of Kelowna, road maintenance contract and wage increases, and a 4.22 per cent increase to cover operating supplementals such as road crack sealing and museum funding.

Owners of a home in Lake Country valued at approximately $1 million are set to pay $340 more in property tax this year.

Lake Country's proposed property tax increase is significantly higher than those in other B.C. municipalities, such as Vancouver (9.7 per cent), Surrey (9.5 per cent) and Prince George (7.58 per cent).

'A very large bill to pay' for policing, said mayor

The latest census data shows that Lake Country's population has surged 22 per cent over the past five years to 15,817.

The District of Lake Country proposes 35 per cent of its total revenue this year coming from property taxes and 14 per cent of the tax money, will be spent on protective services, including RCMP, fire and bylaw services.

District staff have forecast policing costs to grow over five years from $3.79 million for 19 full-time officers this year to $5.39 million for 24 full-time officers in 2027.

Mayor Blair Ireland said it is "a very large bill to pay," and said last month that increased policing costs will show up on property taxes paid by local homeowners.

District staff have proposed that Lake Country could consider separating its RCMP detachment from the Kelowna regional detachment. Lake Country could also establish its own municipal police force and pay for 100 per cent of its policing costs, but Ireland said it's unlikely.

"We are not considering municipal police service at this time … it's extremely expensive," he said.

District staff expect the new rates to come into effect in March.