OYAMA CONCERNS | Trustee questions impact of boundary changes on elementary school [A5]
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Wednesday, January 21, 2015 P R O U D L Y
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3202 29TH St, Vernon • 250-545-0627 • savoyequipment.com
Minor tax hike in Lumby
WINTER WALK
RICHARD ROLKE Morning Star Staff
LISA VANDERVELDE/MORNING STAR
A woman and her dogs walk through the snow on a walk along Okanagan Avenue in Vernon. Environment Canada is calling for sun and a high of 1 Celsius today, clouds and 1 Thursday and rain and 2 Friday.
Pressure placed on politicians RICHARD ROLKE
“How do we get political ownership?”
The future of Greater Vernon’s water utility is being placed in the hands of the politicians. A special meeting of the Greater Vernon Advisory Committee has been called for Thursday at 3 p.m. and the focus will be determining the next steps for the master water plan. “How do we get political ownership of the plan?” said David Sewell, Regional District of North Okanagan chief administrative officer. The fate of the plan has been uncertain since a majority of voters shot down borrowing $70 million for capital expenditures in a November referendum. One of the questions that will be put before GVAC members is what needs to change with the plan so they can publicly endorse it and move it towards another funding formula? Some of the existing GVAC members
— David Sewell
endorsed the master water plan leading up to the November referendum but then stated they would vote against borrowing the $70 million for a variety of reasons, including the hope that a negative vote would lead to senior government grants. “We need to review and consider why there wasn’t the political support,” said Sewell. “My perspective is we went through a number of steps and inferred there was agreement to follow the Interior Health Authority order. We talked about the financial plan and the financial £
commitment.” RDNO staff hope Thursday’s meeting will provide some direction on where their efforts should be targeted in terms of the master water plan. “We need to determine where we go from here,” said Sewell. Juliette Cunningham, GVAC chairperson, is looking forward to Thursday’s discussions. “I can’t predict where we are going. It may give us an opportunity to step back and look at the options,” she said. Among the issues Cunningham says needs to be considered is how GVAC will negotiate with the provincial government on water standards and when any enhancements to the utility must be initiated. “The timelines were pretty short,” she said of the proposal put forward during the referendum.
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Morning Star Staff
The tax man appears is taking easy on Lumby residents. Village council gave first reading Monday to the 2015 budget bylaw, which includes a one per cent municipal tax increase. That translates into $8 for the average home. “It’s interesting that it’s only one per cent,” said Coun. Nick Hodge. “We started off thinking that it would be three per cent. It’s a good news budget all round.” A few factors have allowed Nick Hodge council to keep the projected tax increase as minimal as possible. “It turned out that we found some cost savings and we were able to offset some of it (expenditures) with community forest revenue,” said Mayor Kevin Acton. While the total amount of the tax hike isn’t very large, Acton insists the village is keeping its finances in order and is able to push ahead with infrastructure. “We are meeting all of the targets,” he said. “The reserves are coming along and we are replacing equipment. Staff has really tightened their belts.” A public document will be released soon, and the consultation swill continue until Feb. 15. “On Feb. 2, a public hearing will be scheduled in the event residents want to provide their feedback directly to council,” said Jeremy Sundin, chief financial officer.
†Based on IHS Automotive: Polk Canadian New Retail Vehicle Registrations as of CYTD November 2014 for the Compact SUV/Compact Car/Subcompact Car segments as defined by Honda Canada Inc. *Limited time weekly lease offer and all other offers are from Honda Canada Finance Inc., on approved credit. #The weekly lease offer applies to a new 2015 CR-V LX 2WD model RM3H3FES for a 60-month period, for a total of 260 payments of $69.89 leased at 1.99% APR based on applying $400.00 “lease dollars” (which are deducted from the negotiated selling price before taxes). ‡In order to achieve $0 down payment, dealer will cover the cost of tire/battery tax, air conditioning tax (where applicable), environmental fees and levies on the 2015 CR-V LX 2WD only on customer’s behalf. Down payment of $0.00, first weekly payment and $0 security deposit due at lease inception. Total lease obligation is $18,171.40. Taxes, license, insurance and registration are extra. 120,000 kilometre allowance; charge of $0.12/km for excess kilometres. **MSRP is $27,685 including freight and PDI of $1,695 based on new 2015 Specified Models described above. License, insurance, registration and taxes are extra and may be required at the time of purchase. £For more information about the 2015 Motor Trend Sport/Utility of the Year® award, visit http://www.motortrend.com/oftheyear/suv/2015_honda_cr_v_is_the_motor_trend_suv_of_the_year/ */#/**Prices and/or payments shown do not include a PPSA lien registration fee of $30.31 and lien registering agent’s fee of $5.25, which are both due at time of delivery and covered by the dealer on behalf of the customer on Specified Models only. Offers valid from January 3rd through February 2nd 2015 at participating Honda retailers. Dealer may sell/lease for less. Dealer trade may be necessary on certain vehicles. Offers valid only for British Columbia residents at BC Honda Dealers locations. Offers subject to change or cancellation without notice. Terms and conditions apply. Visit www.bchonda.com or see your Honda retailer for full details.