taxes
2011 West Bench water billing
Submitted by Michael Brydon on Wed, 02/15/2012 - 06:27I have received some questions about 2011 water bills from the RDOS.
Background: Recall that the RDOS took over the West Bench water system in 2011 from the West Bench Irrigation District (WBID), a completely separate form of government. The WBID had bylaws regarding billing that had evolved over the years. Proir to disbanding, the WBID passed a budget for 2011 including a fee structure consistent with its bylaws. The RDOS inherited the bylaws and the 2011 budget.
February 2012 Faulder water update
Submitted by Michael Brydon on Thu, 02/09/2012 - 13:06|
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The location of the Okanagan prison has been announced so we no longer have to factor the possibility of a prison along the road to Faulder into our deliberations. It is true that a Princeton-Summerland Road prison was always a long-shot, mostly due to a lack of infrastructure and a lack of serious lobbying. The site selected by the province, the Osoyoos Indian Band industrial park north of Oliver, is already serviced with water and sewer. And, given a lack of industrial tenants clamoring for space there, a prison is a good way to recoup these servicing investments. |
Which brings us to the Faulder water issue. Just to recap:
2012 RDOS budget update
Submitted by Michael Brydon on Tue, 01/31/2012 - 11:44The 2012 RDOS budget has passed first reading and is being circulated around the member municipalities for comment.
A useful breakdown of tax requisition by jurisdiction can be found here.
There were some big changes in the budget this year. Most notably, there were changes to the way in which overhead costs of the RDOS as a whole are allocated to the member municipalities and rural members. In the past, all overhead costs were allocated on the basis of total assessed value. This may have made sense when the RDOS provided many services for its member municipalities and relatively few services to rural unincorporated areas such as Area 'F'. But over the years the municipalities (Penticton in particular) has moved many services (e.g., planning) "in house" and the services demanded by rural residents have steadily increased. Thus, in 2011, City of Penticton paid about 40% of the RDOS overhead cost even though it used relatively few RDOS services (and paid relatively little of the overall RDOS tax assessment--less than 13%--as a result).
November 21, 2011 presentation to Penticton City Council
Submitted by Michael Brydon on Mon, 11/21/2011 - 09:32| Update 23 Jan 2012: A presentation very similar to the one below was made to an in-camera session of Penticton City Council on Monday, 23 January, 2012. We are now waiting for the City of Penticton to decide whether to offer treatment services to the West Bench. The RDOS was not privy to Council's discussion. Please stand by for news. | |
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We (RDOS staff and I) were supposed to meet with Penticton City Council today to discuss our counter-proposal for the sale of filtered water to the West Bench. Alas, there has been some turnover as a result of the election on Saturday. Two incoming councilors (Helena Konanz and Wes Hopkin) will not attend tonight's meeting (at least not in any formal capacity) so it seems like a waste of time to make the presentation now. We have asked to be added to the agenda of the city's first "working" meeting (once orientation and all the activities of any new council are completed). I have attached the slides I had planned to present here so you can get some sense of what I am saying on your behalf (please keep in mind that the presentation is "animated" so it may not make sense in this static form--you will have to trust that it is "way better" when presented live...). Incidentally, Penticton prefers to have this meeting in camera (closed to the public). But all the material in my presentation has already been made public on this site and elsewhere. Now would be a good time comment on this process or make suggestions since it appears we will not make our presentation to Penticton City Council until early 2012.
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West Bench water boils down to dollars and cents
Submitted by Michael Brydon on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 14:54By JOHN MOORHOUSE, Penticton Herald, Tuesday, November 8, 2011 (link to article)
A proposal to link the West Bench with the City of Penticton water system could boil down to a matter of dollars and cents, says the regional district director for Area F.
Michael Brydon said there are two main options for upgrading the aging West Bench water system.
The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen could either build a separate ultraviolet treatment plant on the West Bench or buy "bulk" water from Penticton‘s filtered water system.
"That‘s really the decision that we‘re looking at," he said. "Do we process the water ourselves, or do we let the City of Penticton process it?"
However, Brydon said the two sides are far apart on the final tab. The RDOS option would cost $3.5 million plus almost $8 million in operating expenses over a 50-year period. The city proposal would involve $1.9 million in capital costs plus some $16 million in operating expenses over 50 years.
September 2011 West Bench water update
Submitted by Michael Brydon on Thu, 09/22/2011 - 17:56|
Update 17 Oct 2011: We continue our negotiations with the City of Penticton regarding their bid for providing the West Bench with water. We hope to make a presentation to Penticton City Council at their first meeting in early November to nail down a final bid price and a few general principles. We will then compare Penticton's bid to our other alternatives and bring a recommendation forward to voters in a referendum. Also, we have sent out invitations to a short web-based survey about the ongoing boil water advisory. If you live on the West Bench and did not receive an invitation to participate, you can add yourself to our West Bench water survey mailing list (opens in a new window). The boil water issue boils down (ha ha) to whether you want to pay for temporary upgrades or would prefer to wait it out until the major upgrade is complete. See the staff memo on the boil water issue here (opens in a new window). |
Just a quick update regarding West Bench water:
We are running a bit behind schedule due in large part to the general slowdown in August. We have been trying to arrange a comprehensive meeting with City of Penticton and RDOS staff since August but this meeting will not happen until October 7th (that is the first date that is acceptable to all the key people!). Also, many people were busy in August so the residents' survey results took a while to trickle in.
Materials from the July 28, 2011 West Bench presentation
Submitted by Michael Brydon on Fri, 07/29/2011 - 08:33Thanks to those of you who could attend the Open House at West Bench School. Thanks as well to RDOS staff who did so much to pull the event together on a warm summer's evening.
Focus Engineering report: West Bench Supply options (2011 predesign)
Submitted by Michael Brydon on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 10:55I have requested an electronic copy of the predesign report for the West Bench supply options. I will post it here as soon as I get it. The report provides much more technical detail about the alternatives (e.g., pump horsepower, waterline routing, and so on).
Some very rough costs for the new alternatives
Submitted by Michael Brydon on Fri, 07/22/2011 - 14:30I have attached the latest version of our internal calculations for three of the West Bench upgrade options (status quo, bulk water, new UV). These are still very rough and pre-design. However, they should give you some sense for the relative costs of the different alternatives. They are also the numbers used in the July 22, 2011, newsletter and FAQ sent to all West Bench residents.
West Bench water system page on the main RDOS web site
Submitted by Michael Brydon on Fri, 07/22/2011 - 14:01Now that West Bench water is the responsiblity of the RDOS, a page has been added to the main RDOS web site.
The official RDOS page will house all the official RDOS news on the water system and the 2011 upgrade project. I will continue to run this as a "shadow" West Bench water on this site to provide additional information and permit more resident feedback (each page on this site permits comments).
