PENTICTON – Penticton's city budget was finalized Friday with no change in the two per cent tax increase proposed at an earlier meeting.

Councillors Andrew Jakubeit, John Vassilaki and Helena Konanz were against the two per cent increase claiming it was too much. They were out-voted at an earlier budget meeting as the rest of council wanted more revenue to pay about $1 million towards the deficit. This is the first budget increase in four years as budgets for 2013 and 2012 passed with zero increases. In 2011, the city reduced taxes by 0.5 per cent.

The 2014 two per cent tax increase will mean a person will pay $27 in property taxes and can expect a five per cent increase in water rates and a 4.18 per cent increase in electricity rates. Council also approved $182,000 from reserves to pay off 2014's projected deficit.

This year's budget include $405,400 for sidewalk upgrades, sharing the cost of a $6 million investment for transformer upgrades at the Westminster Substation and $120,000 for traffic signal improvements in school zones.

In other news city council will hold its regular meeting tonight at city hall starting at 6 p.m.

To contact a reporter for this story, to send photos or videos, email Shannon Quesnel at squesnel@infotelnews.ca, call 250-488-3065, send tweets to @shannonquesnel1 or @InfoNewsPentict.