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City residents pay high price

Pentictonites not only pay to work, shop and recreate in the city; they also pay dearly for the cost of local government.

Contributions to the cost of government by property owners outside of the city of Penticton do not add up.

After reading a recent letter to the editor it is time to set the facts straight. Pentictonites not only pay to work, shop and recreate in the city; they also pay dearly for the cost of local government.

Property owners in Penticton are subsidizing property owners in other areas that use Penticton’s municipal infrastructure.

A property in Penticton pays almost 70 per cent more on average to municipal government than properties that are taxed outside of the city of Penticton.

For example, a property on West Bench worth $400,000 would pay about $1,920 per year when a property in the city of Penticton that is worth $400,000 would pay $3,260.

Penticton’s city council should immediately begin to take steps to lower the tax burden on Penticton residents and manage the cost of local government through policy changes such as annexations, non-resident user fees, eliminating subsidies to the RDOS and so on.

Wayne Llewellyn

Penticton