I support the annexation of the Thomas Brook properties in order to gain access to water and sewer. The paragraph below raises some concerns both short- and long-term.
The city says it will apply to the province so the tax rates in the neighbourhood are set at the CSRD rate for the first five years after annexation, “in order to offset the additional cost of water and sewer services to those properties.”
The TB properties are currently assessed at $10,663.700 (2016) . If taxed at the City rate 4.81/1000 they would pay $51,396.90 collectively. If taxed at the CRSD rate 3.17/1000 it would be $33,817 a difference of $17,579.11. This totals $87,895.55 over the five years. If you factor assessment and potential mil rate change in this time frame it is very realistic to reach $100,000.
In a perfect world it would be nice to extend this gift to the soon-to-be-new-City residents but with ever growing demands for tax dollars and our debt load I do not feel this is fair to current City taxpayers. This also sets a precedence for future annexation requests. I also think that future annexations may meet resistance from the CSRD. Who in my opinion are growing tired of all these little pieces being whittled away from their areas and the next rounds may see the CSRD wanting significant areas annexed.
Bob Melnyk
Revelstoke, BC
