City council is taking steps towards addressing Salmon Arm taxpayers subsidizing the roughly 25 per cent of recreation facility users coming from neighbouring communities.
Between February 2024 and February 2025 the Shuswap Recreation Society (SRS) collected postal codes from users of city facilities, including the SASCU Recreation Centre, Rogers Rink and city sports fields and courts, to determine where they were coming from. Though unable to obtain postal codes from every user and user group, SRS general manager Darin Gerow said a sufficient sample size was collected to deliver an accurate representation. Gerow presented that data at the March 24 council meeting.
Of the 1,577 postal codes collected from Rogers Rink users, 74 per cent were from Salmon Arm, 20 per cent were from the Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) and four per cent were from the Regional District of the North Okanagan (RDNO). The remaining two per cent came from the Thompson Nicola Regional District and "other." Of the 26 per cent of non-Salmon Arm residents, 44 per cent was from Electoral Area G/CSRD, 24 was from Area C/CSRD (which pays $60,000 annually towards Rogers Rink), and 16 per cent was from RDNO.
More than 19,600 postal codes were collected from users of the SASCU Recreation Centre, which includes the city's swimming pool. Seventy-eight per cent of those uses were from Salmon Arm, 11 from the CSRD, six from RDNO and five from "other," though Gerow said there would have been a very small amount from the TNRD.
Postal codes provided by users of field and court facilities showed a smaller majority, 68 per cent, coming from Salmon Arm, with 14 per cent coming from the CSRD, nine from RDNO and "other," and one from the TNRD.
Coun. Kevin Flynn said he was surprised regional users of Rogers Rink outnumbered those from out of town who used the recreation centre.
"That being said, I do want to say that we need this information because in my mind we are probably the jurisdiction in the province… that has the least regional funding of two very major facilities, the arena and the pool/gym complex," said Flynn, noting he didn't think anything needed to be done about the courts and fields, but felt "very strongly that we have to do something about our taxpayers subsidizing, and I would say subsidizing with tax dollars, about 25 per cent of the usage" of the arena and recreation centre.
"If we look at a new facility – we’ve heard already that pools are around $60 million. To not have some kind of pricing that has outside-of-the-area users… pay something is not fair."
Flynn asked for a staff report looking at similar sized communities and "how much contribution they're getting from the outlying regional areas?"
"I think the other piece we need to understand is what are other areas doing that have the only major facility for the whole region, and how are they getting revenue and in a lot of cases it’s a referendum and it’s taxation," said Flynn. "In other cases it’s differential user fees, which Vernon has implemented…"
Coun. Sylvia Lindgren pointed out how people who live in regional districts bordering Salmon Arm may not realize they aren't being taxed for use of the city facilities.
"If you live on Grandview Bench, you don’t contributed to these resources that you use," said Lindgren. "If you live in Grindrod and you skate in Salmon Arm you’re not contributing any of your tax dollars to support these facilities and I think that it’s really important people understand."
After a past council discussion around recreation facilities, Coun. Debbie Cannon said she heard from lots of people from the CSRD "saying please don’t implement differential pricing." Cannon suggested use of differential pricing could spark further conversation around contributions coming from neighbouring regional districts.
Coun. Tim Lavery urged council to work on a notice of motion "that sets out exactly what council wants staff to look at for future options."
"I currently feel that a system of Salmon Arm residency pricing for key rec facilities is needed, and it would prioritize two things, one would be pricing, differential, resident-tiered pricing so that Salmon Arm taxpayers are supported for the use of their recreation facilities that they pay for," said Lavery. "I would include, hopefully, other electoral areas who might want to support their own residents by entering into a regional operations and maintenance cost-sharing agreement. Other jurisdictions have it, it can be done, it doesn’t have to be controversial…"
Lavery also supported giving Salmon Arm taxpayers (and residents of regional districts that take part in a cost-sharing agreement) priority access to "highly oversubscribed" recreational programs.
"I am becoming more and more in favour that Salmon Arm residents who are paying the tax bill for this have a one- or two-week window to register first for programs that they actually subsidize."
Council supported a motion to share Gerow's report with the CSRD, and then agreed to having Flynn, Lavery and Cannon work with staff on a notice of motion that Flynn said would "hopefully be ready for the next full council meeting."
"I don’t think taxpayers in our area, or even in our town, realize that about half of the costs of those facilities is tax dollars – the other half is recovered," said Flynn. "We’re approaching $2 million dollars I believe of taxation between the two facilities and to not have any of it except $60,000 total from our regional area is not fair and is not right and it’s not what’s going on in the rest of the province."
