Blind River treasurer Sue Dent presented the town’s draft budget to about 15 residents at a public meeting Monday evening.
The draft budget is looking at 3.8 per cent tax hike which, if approved by council, would see taxes on a property assessed at $150,000 go up by $98.57.
The proposed capital budget calls for spending of $3,639,500 this year with $1,361,845 coming from taxes. The balance will be funded from grants and reserves.
Dent gave no exact figure at the meeting on how much the operating budget will be because all spending was not yet known.
“The operating budget currently sits at $9,859,099. This number is still preliminary as it is still under review to identify further potential efficiencies. Council must also approve it before it can become final,” she said in an email to ElliotLakeToday.
Overall the draft budget has a total tax levy of $5,938,897 with $4,577,052 going to fund operations, she added.
Dent said consideration was also given to recommendation in the town’s asset management plan, strategic plan and economic development plan in developing the draft budget. There was also a service delivery review done which is still under consideration.
The asset management plan had recommended that council increase revenue by “at least 3.8 per cent,” to its capital budget and not operating budget, the treasurer told those attending the public meeting.
The same plan recommended that council annually increase its water and wastewater budget by as much as an 8.4 per cent increase to cover costs. Council approved a four per cent increase in user fees for water and wastewater this year.
“Our asset management plan indicated those numbers should be quite a bit higher than that,” Dent said.
The treasurer said the 3.8 per cent increase in the taxes is moving the town closer to cost recovery after several years of lower tax increases.
She also indicated that overall the tax levies since 2012 saw lower increases that she estimated represented about a 10 per cent shortfall.
Mayor Sally Hagman said the draft budget increase proposed moves the town closer to cost recovery as recommended in the various plans.
“It would have hurt as much today if we had stayed the course,” the mayor said of the shortfall since 2012.
“We treat your budget dollars like our budget dollars,” she said of the work done by the treasurer and department heads in getting the proposed increase down to 3.8 per cent.
The budget committee will look at the draft budget at a meeting on Feb. 24 with possible council approval on March 2.
Several residents thanked Dent for a good presentation.