W. Kelowna needs amalgamation

How true it is that with less than 200,000 people, the Central Okanagan is ridiculously over-governed with four different municipal government structures, plus the regional district and Okanagan Basin Water Board, repeating basically the same municipal function, four times over, each day, four different ways, at four times the cost; fragmenting tax dollar efficiencies and losing economies of scale, which amalgamation offers.

Amalgamation of West Kelowna, Lake Country and Peachland with the city of Kelowna makes eminent sense in every area of local governance efÀciency, from procurement through to delivery of municipal services. What’s not to like?

West Kelowna divides infrastructure costs between approximately 13600 households; instead of the almost 200,000 households available if we amalgamated into one municipality.

West Kelowna’s average annual growth rate of three per cent translates into approximately 150 new paying households. Fast enough to put more strain upon our rural-infrastructure, but not fast enough to adequately fill municipal coffers needed to turn us into an urban city.

We inherited a structural deÀcit upon incorporation; we knew our size with no municipal land reserves would limit us and make the job of building a city difficult for the long term.

Ten years on, the limitations from our size from which we derive our Ànancial capacity has come home to roost.

It is clear further governance efÀciency is needed. Even a cursory look at municipal books shows our inherent weakness: In 2017 West Kelowna’s portion of revenues collected was approximately $57 million; approximately half of that revenue comes from quarterly utilities payments, which are segregated out to pay for utility infrastructure, delivery of utility services and Àll utility reserves.

Out of the other remaining half of the total annual revenue, approximately $25 million, which come from property taxes and other fees, we pay about $13 million annually for staff, plus administration costs, interest payments and Ànancial charges, outside consulting fees and Àll non-utility reserves.

In a pay-as-you go system such as ours, this tends to leaves only a few million leftover every year for needed and discretionary spending on infrastructure improvements.

Therein lies the problem of our size; because of the high cost of municipal infrastructure, West Kelowna’s Ànancial might alone is not able to afford much of it each year, so we never get ahead and our inherited infrastructure deÀcit continues to build.

Amalgamation is not only necessary; it is doable and beneÀcial to all of us.