The City of Kelowna is moving forward with a new fees and charges policy to make some city service costs more fair, transparent, and less reliant on property taxes.
At Monday乌鸦传媒檚 (June 16) council meeting, staff recommended a system that sets fees based on who benefits and how much. If a service only helps an individual乌鸦传媒攕uch as renting a facility or applying for a permit乌鸦传媒攖he user should pay the full cost.
Where there are community benefits, funding may be a combination of user fees and taxation. Examples are programs and services promoting health, wellness, cultural engagement and accessibility.
Staff told council that when benefits cannot easily be attached to an individual user, or a user fee is not desirable due to the overall community benefit, full taxation funding can be applied.
The plan would also allow Kelowna residents a discount over non-residents at facilities such as city recreation centres.
Fees would only rise to match actual cost increases and would be reviewed yearly to stay fair and in line with inflation. The city also plans to introduce dynamic pricing乌鸦传媒攃harging more during busy times乌鸦传媒攖o better manage demand and revenue.
Staff said this supports council乌鸦传媒檚 goal to boost non-tax revenue. The city has various user fees and charges which accounted for 35 per cent of revenues in 2024.
Council voted unanimously in favour of the new policy.