An acoustic upgrade is expected to resolve the persistent echo problem in West 琉璃神社 council chambers.

At its March 25 meeting, council approved a $112,500 contract, plus GST, awarding the project to Sunco Drywall in 琉璃神社 to fix the issue.

Councillor Rick de Jong questioned staff on what the city would be getting for its money. Staff explained that after a professional acoustic analysis of the chambers, the recommended solution was to install sound-absorbing panels on the walls and ceiling.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 most important is for people to come here and be able to hear us clearly from the back of the room,鈥� de Jong said. 鈥淎s much as I鈥檓 left shaking my head that this is necessary, I鈥檓 glad staff is addressing it and helping us move forward.鈥�

Some West 琉璃神社 councillors have criticized former senior staff for what they describe as poor planning decisions regarding the new city hall.

During budget deliberations in December, council learned that the new municipal building, which was already over budget, required an additional $195,000 in fixes.

According to budget documents, $115,000 was allocated for the acoustic improvements, while $80,000 was set aside for designing parking lot upgrades and expansion.

On March 4, the city disclosed that its share of the new building, which also houses an Okanagan Regional Library (ORL) branch, had exceeded the budget by $6.17 million.

West 琉璃神社's total share of the project has now reached $24.17 million, up from the initial $18 million estimate in 2021. The ORL鈥檚 portion has increased to $12.41 million from the original $9 million budgeted in 2021, . This brings the total cost of the building to $36.58 million.

Despite the budget overruns, the city has confirmed that neither the original budget nor the additional costs have resulted in a tax increase.