Okanagan Falls Incorporation Study

Confused about who's doing what and when the Incorporation Study wraps up? These two visuals will give you a quick summary of the Study timeline and participant roles. Click on each image to open the document.

At the next Committee meeting on April 16, 2024. The meeting agenda can be viewed here.

At this meeting, Urban Systems will attend to provide an overview and answer questions regarding the Roads Investment Review. This Review was prepared to: 1) assess the current condition of Okanagan Falls’ roads, and 2) estimate the budget that would be needed if Okanagan Falls incorporated to sustain the current service levels for road maintenance and renewal.

In addition, the Committee will review information about sewer, water, policing, and municipal administration under an incorporation scenario. The technical consultants will answer any questions about the Communication & Community Engagement Strategy.

The Committee meeting will take place in person at the Okanagan Falls Recreation Centre (1141 Cedar Street) or you can attend remotely. To participate over Zoom, please use this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84806468399?pwd=S2Vld1ZITE42YUhQbDAwOEFrM0VWQT09

• Meeting ID: 848 0646 8399
• Passcode: 125804

We are now seven months into the approximately year-and-a-half long Okanagan Falls Incorporation Study. Here's a recap of what's happened so far:

• In summer 2023, the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) hired technical consultants to analyze the financial and service implications of Okanagan Falls remaining as part of Electoral Area “D” or incorporating into a new municipality. RDOS also established a volunteer Committee of community members to impartially and objectively review the consultant’s Incorporation Study analysis, and, at the end of the process, to recommend to the RDOS Board whether to pursue a community vote on incorporation.
• The technical consultants have been doing detailed calculations to compare local government services that Study Area residents get now, what they cost now, and whether those services and their costs would change under incorporation.
• The Committee and technical consultants have met 3 times to review the consultants findings. There is another Committee meeting on April 16, 2024. Committee meetings are open to residents to attend in person or online.
• All materials that have been reviewed by the Committee are posted on the website and can be reviewed by the public - this includes meeting agendas, video recordings of Committee meetings, and Service Sheets (technical findings). Most documents are posted under the "Documents" tab on the right-hands side of this webpage.
• Rick Wilson, the Chair of the Study Committee, has published a monthly Incorporation Study update in each edition of Skaha Matters since October 2023, and will continue to do so during the remainder of the Study.
• Starting this summer and into fall 2024, there will be numerous events and written materials sharing Study findings with the community.

Have a question? See this article on how to post questions and have a member of the project team respond.

Do you have burning questions about the Incorporation Study? You are invited to post questions and the project team will respond.

To submit a question, click on the "Questions" tab next to the "News Feed" tab directly underneath the "Introduction" article at the top of this web page.

Then, fill in your question in the open text box and click "Submit."

Your question will be sent to the project team to prepare a response. It will take 2-3 business days for your question and a response to be posted on the "Questions" page.

Members of the Incorporation Study Committee are often asked "are you for or against incorporation?”

However, Committee members are committed to staying neutral, reviewing information in an objective way as it becomes available, and asking questions.

At no point during the Incorporation Study will Committee members declare support for or against incorporation. The Committee’s role is to support an unbiased process that culminates in a Committee recommendation for or against a community vote on the matter. For the Committee, the question is not whether Okanagan Falls should incorporate, but whether Okanagan Falls should hold a vote on incorporation.

Once all the technical findings are out in mid-2024, Committee members - and Okanagan Falls residents - will know: under incorporation, would my taxes change? Would I have access to different or improved services? How would a municipal council work?

When the Study findings are complete and have been shared with the community, the Committee will collectively determine whether it supports a community vote on incorporation, and will recommend to the RDOS Board of Directors whether to pursue a referendum.

Click to watch a video of the February 5 Committee meeting or view the draft February 5 Committee minutes (draft until adopted at the Apr. 16, 2024 Committee meeting).

The community Committee is made up of 10 Incorporation Study Area residents who guide the work of the technical consultants. They remain neutral about incorporation and ensure that technical work is thorough and unbiased.

The third meeting of the Committee is taking place from 6:00-8:30pm on Mon, Feb. 5, and the Committee will be reviewing this agenda.

While meetings are working sessions between the Committee and the technical consultants, residents may attend. At the end of the meeting (around 8pm), residents will be asked if they have any questions or comments on agenda items. Residents may attend the meeting in person, online, or by phone using the details below:

• In-person location: 1141 Cedar Street, Okanagan Falls (Okanagan Falls Community Centre Gym)
• Join the meeting online: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85781934246?pwd=bGRqR2EwMVlwM0t2cEoxWTNvMytPdz09
• Meeting ID: 857 8193 4246
• Meeting passcode: 115953

The Okanagan Falls Incorporation Study Committee wishes you a happy holiday!

The Committee and technical consulting team are taking a short holiday break. We will resume posting Study updates to this webpage in early January 2024. Check back for new updates soon!

During the research and analysis phase of the Okanagan Falls Incorporation Study, Service Sheets are one of the key products being prepared by the consulting team. Service Sheets summarize the current state of each local government service that is currently provided to Study Area residents. They then go on to describe anticipated impacts of incorporation for each service.

Service Sheets are being developed between November 2023 to March 2024. Each Service Sheet is presented in draft format at an Incorporation Study Committee Meeting to give the Committee an opportunity to ask questions and clarify details. Following Committee discussion, Service Sheets are finalized and posted on this website.

Once all the Service Sheets are complete, they will provide a full picture of impacts to all services and enable readers to compare the current situation with an incorporation scenario.

If you want all the details, these Service Sheets are for you!

• Click to read the 5 Service Sheets that are finalized as of November 2023:
  • Bylaw Enforcement
  • Emergency Services
  • Environmental Services
  • Library Services
  • Planning & Building Services
• Click here to see the schedule for when each Service Sheet will be prepared

There are numerous groups involved in the Okanagan Falls Incorporation Study: the Province of B.C., the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen, the community Committee, technical consultants, and of course, electors in the Study Area.

This handy, printable document provides a quick overview of the role of each of these groups in the Incorporation Study.

Click to watch a video of the November 21, 2023 Committee meeting or read the minutes from this meeting.

The community Committee is made up of 10 Incorporation Study Area residents who guide the work of the technical consultants. They remain neutral about incorporation and ensure that technical work is thorough and unbiased.

The second meeting of the Committee is taking place from 6:30-8:30pm on Tues, Nov. 21, and the Committee will be reviewing this agenda.

While meetings are working sessions between the Committee and the technical consultants, residents may attend. At the end of the meeting (around 8pm), residents will be asked if they have any questions or comments on agenda items. Residents may attend the meeting in person, online, or by phone using the details below:

• In-person location: 1141 Cedar Street, Okanagan Falls (Okanagan Falls Community Centre Gym)
• Join the meeting online: https://rdos.webex.com
• Join from the meeting link: https://rdos.webex.com/rdos/j.php?MTID=m39f2c117b9e012402434553cc477159b
• Meeting number: 2771 965 5955
• Meeting password: RD@S
• Join by phone: 1-833-311-4101 Canada Toll Free
• Access code: 2771 965 5955
• [To get in the queue to ask a question, select: *3]