After completing its first review of the draft five-year financial plan (2026-2030), the Regional District of East Kootenay Board of Directors is now hoping to gather input from residents.
“The Financial Plan lays out how tax dollars are being spent on the more than 115 services offered in the RDEK. Some of the capital projects included in the Financial Plan for 2026 include: fire engine replacements for the Panorama, Hosmer, Baynes Lake and Windermere Fire Departments, a watermain replacement in Windermere, and a reservoir expansion in the Eastside Water System,” says RDEK Board Chair Rob Gay. There are also a number of 100% fully funded capital projects, including the extension of the Elko Fire Hall, Edgewater Sewer lift station and connectivity, Edgewater Water raw water intake design and phase 1 of the Hosmer Fire Hall project.
The budgeting process at the RDEK is extensive and started back in September with the RDEK staff working on the preliminary budget calculations. Meetings with Area Directors, stakeholders, commissions and others have helped inform this year’s draft plan. The Board has now reviewed the draft, and the next critical step in the budget process is getting it out to the public and gathering comments and feedback from residents about projects and services, and the potential impact on property taxes.
The draft 2026 financial plan proposes a taxation increase over last year, which works out to approximately $26 on an average $623,000 residential assessment. In the regional district model, municipalities and electoral areas are all affected differently depending on which RDEK services they receive and these totals impact only the RDEK line item on tax notices, not the overall tax bill.
The draft 2026 operating budget is $48,769,005 and the capital budget is $11,334,790 million.
“Every year, our Board and staff work hard to balance services for our residents with being careful about taxes. As our region grows and changes, and people expect more from services, this gets tougher. I’m proud of how we’ve managed this in this year’s draft plan,” adds Gay. “Having the public’s feedback is an important next step in the process and we look forward to gathering their input over the coming weeks.” A public comment period will open on Tuesday, February 17 and run until Noon on Monday, March 9, 2026.
Copies of the plan and comment forms will be available next week on engage.rdek.bc.ca/budget and by request through the RDEK’s Cranbrook and Columbia Valley offices. The RDEK will be posting a budget “snapshot” to that site early next week that provides a condensed overview of the Draft Plan and some of the highlights for 2026.
Final decisions on the 5-Year Financial Plan will take place at the March 12 Committee Meetings with adoption at the March 13 Board Meeting.
