By Brennan Phillips
Special to the Penticton Western News
Oliver council is looking prepare the town for an increase in policing costs they expect to come into effect in 2022.
“Our thought process is it’s more palatable for a low increase year after year instead of a single big impact increase,” said Oliver Mayor Ron Hovanes.
To cover the costs of the municipal police department, the Town of Oliver plans to add nine per cent to the police budget each year. This increase will continue until they reach the predicted 54 per cent necessary to cover the upcoming increase in policing costs in 2022.
Oliver currently pays for 30 per cent of the costs for the municipal police, with the province covering the remaining 70 per cent, based on the last census, where the town was still under 5,000 residents. However, the current population is already over that, putting them into the position of soon having to cover 70 per cent of the policing costs. Town council is looking to prevent a sudden large tax increase for the community by taking it in stages.
“We have asked the province for a more incremental shift in costs,” said Hovanes. “We weren’t alone, Peachland had to deal with it, and Osoyoos more recently, but they weren’t very receptive to it.”
Related: Osoyoos to add 250 per cent to town’s RCMP bill
According to Oliver’s chief financial officer, Devon Wannop, the town currently pays about $270,000 in policing costs. That number is expected to rise to around $920,000 in the year 2022 when the next census takes effect and the town moves into a higher population bracket.
The money raised in the meantime will not go to waste. Council plans to use the extra money for capital projects until the change in policing costs occur, at which point the money will switch over to cover the new requirements.