LETTER – Kamloops deserves better than this ‘spend and tax’ City council
(Image: Mel Rothenburger)
Mel, this is my impression of current performance of the “spend and tax“ city council.
Kamloops residents are facing another hit to their wallets. At a recent city council meeting, city administrators proposed a 10% increase in utility fees. (A total of $1,682,548 more from taxpayers). Rather than push back, or even ask tough questions, most councillors sat in silence.
With no debate, the increase was quietly handed off to staff for changes to the utility bylaw.
This is becoming a pattern. When costs rise, the default response from this council seems to be to pass them along to taxpayers rather than look for savings within city operations.
A 10% hike in utility fees is not trivial. For many households already grappling with higher food prices, fuel costs, and mortgage rates, this is one more burden.
What’s missing is any discussion about balance. If utility fees are going up, where is the demand for a corresponding reduction in property taxes? Where are the calls for cost-cutting measures or efficiency reviews within City Hall? Instead, silence.
Kamloops residents should expect more from their elected officials. Municipal councils are supposed to represent the interests of taxpayers, not simply rubber-stamp recommendations from administrators. Leadership means asking hard questions, weighing options and ensuring city spending is justified and sustainable.
By staying silent, council is sending a message that residents can be counted on to absorb every increase, no matter how steep, while city hall avoids the harder task of trimming expenses.
That approach erodes public trust and feeds the perception that Kamloops has a “spend and tax” council, more interested in preserving the status quo than showing fiscal discipline.
Kamloops deserves better. Ratepayers deserve open debate, real accountability and councillors who are willing to stand up and demand value for every tax dollar and every fee increase.
GARRY DAVIES,
Kamloops
ArmchairMayor.ca 
We used to see reasonable tax increases in Kamloops, in the order of 2-3%, more or less the inflation rate. During the Covid pandemic, the Federal government couldn’t shovel money out the door fast enough it seemed, with no thought for the consequences, fueling unnecessary inflation by creating artificial demand from folks with more “free” money than they could ever have imagined, with consequent price increases (or gouging, if you prefer). This mindset seems to have filtered down to the municipal government level. We have now seen tax increases approaching 10% in each of the last 3 years, with another likely significant hike this coming year, and taxpayers are supposed to unquestioningly accept that as the new normal. Governmental bodies across the spectrum are addicted to spending money that isn’t theirs to start with, on questionable projects and programs. The proposed Summit Connector footbridge comes to mind, a completely unnecessary boondoggle that won’t get used unless they also put a fence down Summit Dr, which would solve the issue without building the bridge in the first place, but hey, it’s at least something to spend (waste?) money on. Taxpayer’s salaries have typically not seen the kind of increases to match these new tax hikes, so they naturally question, or should, how 8 or 9% annual increases in taxes became the new normal? I understand the need for necessary infrastructure i.e. the PAC, new ice surfaces, possibly the RCMP office, but this constant search for new shiny things to spend money on, and the increase in City staff to operate/supervise it all, needs to stop right now. We absolutely need good infrastructure and amenities to attract new professionals to RIH, TRU, and other facilities. That said, high tax rates will not encourage folks to move here, and may in fact act as a deterrent. The idea of an independent audit and zero-based budgeting at regular intervals has been pooh-poohed in the past, with the assumption by those with a vested interest that everything is operating at peak efficiency, and there is no improvement to be made. It would be nice for those paying the bills to know for sure.
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Garry,
You are but a serf. You will pay your rate. You will pay your tithe and tax. You will pay. All of you will pay. Pay no attention to what goes on at city hall. We know best – better than you. After all, we’re here, and you’re there. We will make the decisions because that’s what we do. And you will pay.
Now shift that city council meeting camera ever so slightly so that I may be out of the frame and let me nap in peace.
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