Council moves ahead with plan for new city hall

West Kelowna Council has approved a borrowing authorization bylaw that includes using an assent free loan to design, build and finance its first City Hall.

The city’s current debt is below five per cent of its annual revenue calculation, which allows the city to borrow against its revenue. This means the city can apply to borrow up to the $11 million limit allowable under an assent free regulation in addition to using the funds saved.

The city has been saving money annually into a city hall reserve fund expected to be at $7 million in 2022. This, combined with a loan of up to $11 million, allows council to move forward with what previous councils have long been championing in the past – delivering the first City Hall in West Kelowna and giving the long overdue Mt. Boucherie Recreation Centre back to the community, without new tax increases.

“On behalf of our council, I am so pleased that we are moving forward with our first City Hall that will not result in new tax increases to our community,” said Mayor Gord Milsom. “We heard the community and we saved funds in order to avoid new tax increases. We are also looking forward to returning the recreation centre back to the community.”

“As a 13-year young municipality, we have a lot of infrastructure to establish, and we are grateful to our taxpayers and our staff for keeping West Kelowna in a very strong financial state,” stated Milsom. “We will continue to focus on delivering the Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant as our top priority, and we will now resume the other priorities of council.”

“We also have a number of capital projects beginning this year, including an increased number of road and sidewalk improvement projects,” added Milsom. “We are continuing to invest in long overdue infrastructure and civic services that will benefit the Greater Westside community.”