Council receives 12-month progress report

March 25, 2024

News Release

Demonstrating a commitment to transparency and accountability, City of Kelowna’s Corporate Strategy & Performance Department presented the 2023 public progress report on Council priorities at today’s regular Council meeting.

“Measuring our performance allows us to evaluate our programs, services and processes to ensure we are taking the necessary actions to move us toward the improvements and changes that are important to Council, the community and the organization,” said Mayor Dyas. “Council is committed to working closely with residents, community partners and other levels of government to continue taking meaningful action to bring positive change.”

The 12-month report, which is available at council.reporting.kelowna.ca, measures progress on the 22 actions and six key priorities Council outlined at the start of its term: crime and safety, affordable housing, homelessness, transportation, agriculture and climate and environment.

According to the report, of the 22 measures, ten are on track, eight indicate no change or no current data is available, and four are not yet on track. Areas trending in the right direction include property crime, supply of housing types, transit ridership, and protection of agricultural land. Those not trending in the right direction include complex care units, resident sense of safety, non-market housing, and GHG emissions.

“We are making good progress but there is still work to be done,” said Mayor Dyas. “We will be innovative and continue to actively monitor the progress and adjust as needed to ensure we are delivering the results our citizens want and deserve.”

The report notes that RCMP data for 2023 indicated improvements, compared to 2022, in almost all theft-related categories, including a 44 per cent drop in cases of business break and enter, 36 per cent decrease in motor vehicle theft, and 30 per cent decrease in theft from motor vehicle.

Report highlights include the addition of:

A Mayor’s Task Force on Crime Reduction, which is alongside the addition of 32 new RCMP and bylaw officers, and 11 fire fighters in 2023 and 2024.
A new Uptown Rutland Business Association on call pilot program.
Sixty units of transitional housing at STEP Place and 60 units in Q2 at Trailside.
An Agricultural Advisory Committee to advise Council on issues important to the agricultural and agri-business community, including sustainable agricultural land use from a cultural, economic, environmental and social perspective.

The report also notes:

The City received $31.5 million in grant funding through the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) to increase the supply and diversity of housing. At the end of 2023, there were over 2,800 rental homes under construction, with over 7,000 in the development pipeline, and 106 subsidized housing units completed.
Project work is being undertaken to provide Council with an option of bundling a significant package of road projects from the Transportation Master Plan, to advance major construction for primary network improvements on an accelerated basis.
The redeveloped Parkinson Recreation Centre will be built to a net-zero energy standard, directly aligning investment with emissions reduction goals.
Ongoing energy upgrades to City facilities, including the Rutland Family Y project estimated to mitigate 160 tonnes of CO2e per year.

The City also released its progress report on corporate priorities. Both can be found at opendata.kelowna.ca/pages/progress-reports.

For more information on Council priorities, including the 22 corresponding actions and result summary, visit kelowna.ca/councilpriorities.