A reported 16.38% increase in school taxes turned out to be a whopping mistake.
For 10 days, Nakusp Village council thought the large hike was going to be imposed on village taxpayers.
Even Mayor Karen Hamling commented on the information, stating, “Well, we have no choice in the matter. ”
In the end, the mayor and every other member of council could breathe a sigh of relief.
As it turned out, the Ministry of Education provided inaccurate information and the increase was only 3.09%, which works out to an annual increase of $16.21 for an average single family house in Nakusp instead of the proposed$115.66.
Municipalities throughout B.C. are issued orders annually to collect funds for schools and policing. These funds are merely collected by the village, and then paid directly to the school board and police for their own operating expenses.