Osoyoos town councillors will go through their 2025 general budget to look for any final cuts or changes at a special budget meeting on Jan. 16.
The budget currently looks to have approximately an 18 per cent tax rate increase to the municipal levy.
For the average residential property, which in Osoyoos is $720,535, the increase is expected to go up $186.11, from $1,017.11 in 2024's budget to $1,203.22.
While many of the increases to the budget are out of council's control, such as due to increases in insurance costs, inflation or contractual wage increases, they will be presented with items that are not set in stone.
Town staff have brought forward requests for additional staff, including an asset management program coordinator, a position to document and find efficiencies in the town's processes, a non-profit group liaison, a project coordinator, an emergency program coordinator and a full-time position to handle health and safety policies and practices instead of contracting them out.
Council will also be presented with $9,774,539 in capital projects, some of which are set to be funded from sources such as development cost charges as opposed to from general surplus or reserve funding.
The largest single project is a request from staff to set $2.5 million to purchasing land for easements and future infrastructure projects at current prices in 2025.
Staff note in the request that the purchases would resolve issues with right-of-ways with properties, and would be be offset by saving costs for the future projects.
An estimated $85,000 review of the cemetery is also back before council, after it was cut from 2024's budget.
A request for $87,000 is up for ongoing removal of asbestos from town-owned buildings.
Staff are also asking for $75,000 in 2025 and $1.6 million split between 2026 and 2027 to build town-owned staff housing.
According to the report for that request, the town currently owns that property and uses it for temporary staff housing, as it has a reverter clause that will send it back to the province if not used for the public good.
The proposal is to look at construction options for a new building with more units of housing instead of repairing the aged building currently there.