By ROY WOOD

Oliver Parks and Recreation is proposing a budget that would hike taxes in the town by $36.10 per household and $31.25 in regional district Area C.

More than half of the amounts would cover a one-time expenditure to expand the weight room at the Oliver recreation complex.

Oliver Parks and Recreation Society chair Sheila Lange and manager Carol Sheridan presented their draft budget to a council committee Monday as council continues its town budget deliberations.

Lange told the committee that the society’s board unanimously approved the budget request seeking an 18.1-per-cent bump in its tax request over last year. If council wants to maintain programs and facilities at their current levels, “You’re going to have to bite the bullet and give us an increase,” she said.

In a letter accompanying the presentation, Lange said the cost of expanding the weight room is about $140,000. About $40,000 would come from cash reserves with the remainder being paid for through a tax increase bump of $20 per household in the town and $17.25 for rural residents. The one-time extra assessment would be removed for the 2017 taxation year.

Sheridan said the weight room expansion is long overdue. The current facility is overcrowded to the point where people are occasionally turned away. She said there are 400 members who have access to the room and that 60 people use it each day.

The remainder of the budget increase covers expenses for the programs and facilities operated by the parks commission.

Among the highlights presented by Sheridan:

• Increase in administration costs includes $5,000 for a part-time grant writer position to help the society gain access to various grants;
• The arena and community hall operating budget lines include money to rebuild reserves meant to deal with unanticipated costs associated with the aging structures;
• The request includes modest compensation increases for full-time and part-time staff.

Responding to a question about from water councillor Rick Machial, Sheridan said that since 2005, annual program revenues have increased from $47,000 to about $150,000 and special events revenues from $2,000 to $15,000.

There was little apparent opposition from members of council and several of them praised the work performed by the society. Councillor Maureen Doerr seemed to sum up the sentiment: “We’ve got to step up to the plate.”

The non-profit society operates and manages park and recreational facilities on behalf of the town and Area C.