When West Kelowna City Council was discussing the 2018 city budget, it projected a city growth rate of 1.6 percent.
What they didn't know was that this number would be nearly doubled. Now the 3.1 percent growth rate has come with a reward of $440,000 in extra tax revenue.
This has been largely due to the increasing number of properties popping up around West Kelowna, especially apartments complexes.
West Kelowna's Chief Administrative Officer Jim Zaffino proposed a few ideas for the extra tax revenue. This includes:
-Hiring and training an additional 2 RCMP officers.
-Hiring an outside parks planner
-Implementing a development services planner to help organize the incoming cannabis industry following legalization.
Zaffino says he'd also like to see anything left over placed into reserves for the City to use at a later time.
Another option on the table is for the money to go towards lowering taxes in West Kelowna.