Part of the cost for proposed 2026 improvements in Kelowna policing and transit will be shunted farther into the future to mitigate next year’s tax hike.

Reserve funds and a city account associated with the years-ago sale of the municipal electrical utility to FortisBC will be tapped to help pay for new RCMP members, expansion of the transit system, and various capital projects, city councillors heard this week.

“We’ve done a little bit of fancy footwork in terms of our financing,” finance director Joe Sass said during a preview of the budget, which will be discussed in detail on Thursday.

Overall, the strategy will reduce what would otherwise have been a tax hike in the range of nine per cent to a planned increase of 4.47 per cent, council heard.

“It is our strong financial position a

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