(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)

Kamloops city hall debt is about spike again and taxpayers will soon be asked for their blessing.

Voters gave their consent to borrow $275 million for a new theatre and arena last year, but another $188 million is on the table for projects like a new police station and an expanded city works yard.

City council will consider how they'll ask taxpayers for approval at next week's meeting, but it's expected to go through the same opt-in counter petition used in 2024.

How the combined debt would impact the average taxpayer isn't clear yet, but the loans are expected to be paid over 30 years, much like the Build Kamloops loans. A planned 1% tax increase was projected for the arts centre and arena, building annually for five years.

It was estimated to cost the average homeowner $25 more in taxes for each of those five years, amounting to $150 more in annual property taxes.

According to a city staff report, the bulk of the borrowing goes toward the new police station, just shy of $151 million. City staff projected the same annual 1% tax increase for five years for that project, according to reports to council earlier this year.

The nearly $38 million remaining is split among three other projects.

One is a nearly 10-acre lot at 965 McMaster Way, eyed for a future civic operations yard expansion. The $16.8 million deal is already signed and the property purchased through taxpayer funds, but voters will be asked to approve a 30-year loan to reimburse those reserves.

Most of the lot is leased to a transport company and those payments will go toward the debt, the city said in a news release.

The remaining loans include the third phase of Tranquille Road utility works and repaving for $9 million and an $11.8 million renovation at the River Street water intake plant.

Pending a council vote on Aug. 12, voters will be asked to take part in an Alternative Approval Process instead of a referendum. Just as the Build Kamloops projects were approved last year, only voters opposed to the projects will be asked to take part.

If any of the four loans on the table amasses opposition from at least 10% of the electorate, it will likely then go to a referendum.

The new projects would bring a combined $463 million in taxpayer-backed loans over two years and nears the provincial government's steadily increasing debt limit. Next year, Kamloops will be limited to around $700 million.

The province also limits how much of the city's budget can go toward loan payments. At 4% of the overall budget when including the Build Kamloops loans, it remains far below the 25% ceiling, according to a January budget report.

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