RDKB Town Hall meetings start next week
By Erin Perkins
It’s budget season again and the Regional District Kootenay Boundary (RDKB) directors want public input on how to spend your tax dollars.
RDKB directors are hosting Town Hall meetings in each electoral area beginning next week. During the meetings, directors will be discussing how the district operates, the 2012 budget and the 2012-2016 Five-Year Financial Plan. The budget as presented is still in draft form and is set for final approval in March. This is the sixth year the RDKB has hosted Town Hall meetings. Regional District staff also attend the meetings and take residences through the process step by step.
“The Town Hall meetings give residents an opportunity to see what the (budget) triggers are,” said Electoral Area C director Grace McGregor. “I get to talk to people about what I see happening and why… I think it is a good way to get people out to diaglogue.”
“I hope everyone can come out and get informed,” said Irene Perepolkin, Electoral Area D director. “It’s an opportunity to get information and see what your taxes will look like in the coming year.”
“It’s a great way to get to know how your money is spent,” agreed Bill Baird, Electoral Area E director.
Christina Lake facing tax increases
Christina Lake residents will be facing a tax increase this year. The milfoil removal will be doubled . Also, in 2013 all Kootenay Boundary residences can expect to start paying for the upgrades to the Regional District offices, which started three years ago and are now complete.
McGregor said many Christina Lake residents have attended her four or five other town hall type meetings over the past year so the budget shouldn’t “surprise” anyone too much.
The milfoil issue has been going on for years now. This year the RDKB will be doubling their dive crew and considering the development of a weevil business. The weevils, which are naturally occuring in the lake, destroy the milfoil and then, when there is no more milfoil, they die.
“If we rear our own weevils we will eventually and hopefully reinburse this community (for the taxes) and make a business of it,” said McGregor. “It will be a short-term painful increase but we hope to do it right and get the benefits.”
A complete break down of those tax increases will be made clear at the Town Hall meeting.
No tax increases expected for Area D or Area E
Perepolkin and Baird don’t expect there will be any tax increases for the residences of Area D or E. There are no new services being added to the areas but the directors would like to hear from residences about what they may like to see added or removed to the services.
“There are definetly no big surprises,” said Baird. “We tried to keep everything down.”
Perepolkin said the meetings are also a great way to get to know how a regional district government works and what they are responsible for compared to a city government.
Provincial taxes are not controlled by the RDKB and neither are property assessment values. Although, Baird noted that Area E has seen a seven per cent decrease in their property assessments this year, which has also decreased the fire budget by the same percentage.
The first local Town Hall meeting is with Electoral E with director Bill Baird on Friday Feb. 24 at 6:30 p.m. in the conference room at the Inn at Big White, Big White Road at the Big White Ski Resort.
The second meeting will be for residents of Electoral Area D with director Irene Perepolkin on Monday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. in the Senior’s Hall at City Park — 565 71st Avenue, Grand Forks.
The third meeting is for residents of Electorial Area C with director Grace McGregor on Wednesday, Feb. 29 at 6 p.m. in the Christina Lake Community Hall on 90 Park Street, Christina Lake.
For more information visit the RDKB website at http://www.rdkb.com. If you can’t attend, there is also a link on that page for a feedback document.
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