Only 3%

[ixler8]

Looks like our property taxes are going up , 3% , and water is going up $50.00 .

[Nebula]

Might keep Lake Country in first place for the highest taxes in the Okanagan.

[SmileyEyes]

The $50 increase in water is for all the extra dirt they send through the pipes...my toilet is stained from the dirty water. Never had any problems until this past year!

[Kalvin K]

Funny. I remember 20 years ago (oceola source) the water used to get REALLY bad in the spring.

So dirty the water looked brown coming out of the tap. Dirt used to settle to the bottom of the toilet bowl. A bath was simply out of the question as the water was so dirty. Mom had a brand new Britta filter and I remember trying to filter the water with it... it plugged the filter after only filtering 1/2 of the water and the water that did go through was still dirty.

So, my experience has been very different. The water is way less dirty than it used to get.

Having said that. We pay WAY too much for water in Lake Country. Costs over 3x what I was paying in Rutland 3 years ago.

[Graphite]

What do you pay for water in Lake Country? Water in Rutland isn't expensive except in the summer.

[John500]

Seems like Lake Country has similar disconnect with reality as most other towns and cities. Poor economy, people struggling. And we keep increasing taxes. Total disconnect. Sad.

[Kalvin K]

What do you pay for water in Lake Country? Water in Rutland isn't expensive except in the summer.

It's somewhere near $500/year. I forget exactly what it's supposed to be this year.

In Rutland I paid approx $130/year.

[bidwell2]

Water rates don't surprise me - take a look on the District website at how much is earmarked (and already spent) for water upgrades.

Then have a look around your neighbourhood in the summer and no doubt you'll notice the one or two people who couldn't care less about the water supply - sprinklers going 24/7.

My neighbour is one of them.
For all of the water our neighbourhood might save by being 'water-wise', this guy blows it away one-hundred fold - never shuts his sprinklers off from June to October.

Told the District and they won't touch him because he's zoned agricultural, although he does nothing remotely agricultural with his land, just mows it.

So better get used to increasing water rates.

[Meeko666]

We are supplied by Alto Utilities and, until the service and water pressure are increased, I do not believe the increases in rates are justified. We have such poor pressure, having a shower takes twice as long as it should. Where is the saving in that?

[Donald G]

I find it interesting that years ago when Lake Country was trying to determine if it should become part of Kelowna or form its own entity the local politicians were telling the people that they should have their own Mayor and Council so that they didn't end up paying the high taxes that Rutland and Kelowna were paying. So they did; and they are. Similar to the situation that Westsyde will face in a few years. Duplication ALWAYS turns out to be the most expensive methodology.

[Ken7]

The $50 increase in water is for all the extra dirt they send through the pipes...my toilet is stained from the dirty water. Never had any problems until this past year!

Flush it after you use it...

[Donald G]

I wonder how much of that tax increase is because of the thousands upon thousands upon thousands of dollars being spent by Mayor Baker in his pursuit of having the few long term renters evicted from the provincial property they have rented for years on a segment of the small lakes south of Lake Country? Spending thousands of dollars of tax payers money in pursuit of what appears to me to be a personal whim is, in my opinion, the height of political opportunism and financial irresponsibility.

[Kalvin K]

I wonder how much of that tax increase is because of the thousands upon thousands upon thousands of dollars being spent by Mayor Baker in his pursuit of having the few long term renters evicted from the provincial property they have rented for years on a segment of the small lakes south of Lake Country? Spending thousands of dollars of tax payers money in pursuit of what appears to me to be a personal whim is, in my opinion, the height of political opportunism and financial irresponsibility.

Funny, I've been meaning to start a new thread about that as my Grandparents own one of those leases. Will try to put something up tonight with all of the details. But in summary, what the DOLC and the OBWB are trying to do is downright shameful with huge expendatures of taxpayer money and no evidence of benifit to the taxpayers/water system.

[Donald G]

To Kalvin K ...

The other day a person showed me the foot and a half high stack of paper they had just received by special delivery as part of the very expensive (lawyer enriching) ongoing court appeal by Mayor Baker to to have all of the age old leases on the small lakes cancelled ... in spite of the fact that a court has already ruled against him. Since numerous lease land lots exist in other areas areas of the province and there has NEVER been a problem on the small lake water shed in question what would cause him to continue to pursue the issue long after an initial decision has been made by the appropriate authorities? After spending five or six hours wading through the mass of material sent out to every person involved ... which enabled me to scan about half of the page by page material in the box ... I am at a complete loss as to the necessity and purpose of Mayor Bakers ridiculous (my opinion) initiative. The reasons given by Mayor Baker regarding water rights do not in any way "hold water" in view of the large developments he has authorized on much larger lakes bordering Lake Country, and leaves me wondering what his real reason for shelling out the thousands in tax money might be? People in Lake Country must be furious at their taxes being raised 3% when thousands is being spent in such a frivolous way. Is Mayor baker running a one man show in Lake Country? Where are the Council members who are also charged with spending tax money wisely? Something is very wrong in Lake Country.