Skaha Estates paying freight for OK Falls

Once again, Okanagan Falls aspires to become a town while expecting to use the tax bases of Skaha Estates, Lakeshore Highlands, and Heritage Hills to pay for it.

But these three subdivisions are suburbs of Penticton, not suburbs of Okanagan Falls, a village which offers us only two things, Tickleberries and the library.

For decades, these three Penticton suburbs have paid taxes to support services which benefit only Okanagan Falls, like its plethora of parks which we do not use.

My community of Skaha Estates paid for its own lakefront park, and we alone pay for its annual maintenance. Not a dime of Okanagan Falls taxes has ever been contributed to our park. Skaha Estates is a community where tax dollars flow in only one direction — out to the benefit of Okanagan Falls.

When former RDOS director Tom Siddon wanted to finally provide Heritage Hills with a park, he knew that just asking Okanagan Falls residents to do the right thing after decades of Heritage Hills paying taxes for parks that they do not use in OK Falls would not pass in a referendum. So, to ensure that the vote would pass, he tempted OK Falls residents by proposing to buy even more parkland for them on the same referendum.

Siddon’s other accomplishment was to protect his own village of Kaleden by removing it from RDOS Area D, where it might be beyond the avaricious grasp of Okanagan Falls.

Watch out Kaleden, the province might decide that you should become part of the new town to help pay the bills.

After all, if the province can assemble a town of 4,500 people, then that town will have to pay all policing costs by itself with no help from the province. (Osoyoos just crossed that 4,500 person threshold, and has to pay much more as a result.)

Gee, if Okanagan Falls becomes big enough, maybe the province will even give it its very own homeless shelter to increase the crime statistics and justify more police.

As Okanagan Falls seeks to increase the taxes on its neighbours for things that will only benefit the Falls, they might remember the parable of killing the golden goose.

Or, here’s a novel idea: how about Okanagan Falls paying for things that benefit only it instead of taxing us?

Alan Whitman Skaha Estates