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WEEKLY NEWS FOR APRIL 30

Good afternoon folks,

This week, we’re digging into the 2026–2030 financial plan, which was presented to council during a committee of the whole meeting on April 28. The plan will be brought to the community this evening during a public information session at the Sun Peaks Centre at 6 p.m. Members of the public may attend the meeting in person or participate via Zoom.

SPIN is working on an explainer on the financial plan for next week, so if you have any questions, please send us an email and we will do our best to help clarify. 

Questions, comments and feedback may be submitted to municipal director of finance Cheryl Taylor-Gale at dof@sunpeaksmunicipality.ca.

There will be a special council meeting on May 5 for the first three readings of the financial plan, followed by its adoption on May 12.

You can view the plan report and the plan itself, as well as watch the April 28 meeting on YouTube. 

Following the presentation to council, concerns were raised that the two per cent inflationary increase, included in the eight per cent tax increase for 2027-2030, may not be realistic; the number could be higher year over year. Taylor-Gale also indicated that the budget for next year may look a little different with the municipality projected to be in a better position thanks to some work being done now on split class taxation clarification and an asset management plan in the works. 

While we don’t have any stories for you to read in this newsletter as we work through some of these documents, tomorrow we will share our council newsletter so keep your eyes on your inbox. We do what we do just for you! Thanks for reading.

YOU SHOULD KNOW 

Local and regional tidbits you should be aware of.

🥐 Vertical Cafe will be closed for renovations starting May 3, with a planned reopening at the end of the month. 

“Thank you everyone for your support over the last seven years, we look forward to sharing the next part of our journey with you! We can’t wait for you to check out the new digs,” the cafe shared in a Facebook post.

🧑🏼‍🚒 Sun Peaks Fire Rescue is recruiting new firefighters from now until May 30. 

“We have created an in-depth training program that is IFSAC [International Fire Services Accreditation Congress] and Pro Board certified to take you from a brand-new volunteer to a full-service firefighter and EMR [Emergency Medical Responder] with no previous experience required,” the fire rescue service wrote in a Facebook post. 

For more information contact info@sunpeaksfirerescue.com or call 250-578-8985.

🚨 The Thompson-Nicola Regional District will issue a test emergency notice through Voyent Alert on Thursday, May 7, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. Voyent Alert is a free emergency alert notifications provider. In order to receive notices, residents must register for the service.

🗳️ The Conservative Party of B.C. leadership race is coming to an end, and members in good standing will receive voting ballots for the online voting portal before Sunday, May 10. The new party leader will be announced Saturday, May 30 at the Conservative Party of B.C. leadership convention.

Kamloops Centre MLA Peter Milobar announced his bid for leadership the same day the race was called.

“There’s a lot at stake in this leadership race,” Milobar told Revelstoke Mountaineer, SPIN’s sibling publication. He said the party focus needs to be on showing the public what qualifications current caucus members have for leadership and attracting future candidates in preparation for the next provincial election.

“We have to demonstrate to the public that we do have a serious group of people that have a wide range of skill sets that are very transferable to governing versus opposition,” Milobar said.

Ward Stamer, the MLA for Kamloops-North Thompson, which includes Sun Peaks, has endorsed Milobar in his bid for party leadership.

KEEP IN TOUCH 📲

Did you know we are on social media? While Meta’s response to Bill C18, the Online News Act, significantly reduced the amount we are able to post on Facebook and Instagram, SPIN posts regularly on BlueSky. From time-to-time we may even hop on a TikTok trend! Follow us on both using the icons at the end of this email.

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