Sundre homeowners who have not already done so will have to factor into their annual budgets a modest increase to their taxes over the next two years. Council passed during its Dec. 5 meeting the municipality's two-year operating budget for 2017-18.
Sundre homeowners who have not already done so will have to factor into their annual budgets a modest increase to their taxes over the next two years.
Council passed during its Dec. 5 meeting the municipality's two-year operating budget for 2017-18.
"It was (carried by) a five-to-two vote," Vic Pirie, director of finance and administration, told the Round Up last week.
Mayor Terry Leslie and Coun. Myron Thompson each opposed the roughly three per cent increase to the mill rate.
"Their concern was to reduce the impact on residents," said Pirie.
"It wasn't necessary — I think we could have gotten by without doing it," said Coun. Myron Thompson about the tax hike.
With the outlook of the economy at the present time and the fact there are people who are living month to month while others are living on credit or credit lines, council should have done its part to help taxpayers by not increasing the mill rate, he said.
Additionally, the impending carbon tax is expected to increase the cost of food, and with the deep freeze of winter settling in, people will also be faced with increasing heating bills, Thompson told the Round Up, adding he felt that holding the line on taxes "would help ease the load to some extent."
With such considerations in mind, administrative staff made a concentrated effort to focus on how the increased cost would affect residents in 2017 and 2018, said Pirie.
Their calculations determined that a homeowner with a house assessed at $350,000 and who uses an average amount of 20 cubic metres of water as well as 15 gigajoules of gas per month will be paying about $112 more in 2017 than in 2016. In 2018, the increase over 2017 for a house assessed at the same value will be about $111. Of course the higher a home is assessed, the more its owner will be paying, as well as vice versa for houses with lower assessments, he said.
And while the monthly flat rates for utilities like gas, water and wastewater are increasing, the consumption fees will remain unchanged. This will provide residents with an opportunity to reduce their monthly costs by improving the efficiency of their consumption habits, he said. Click here for that story.
So although the 2017 mill rate is going up roughly three per cent over 2016, the municipality's decision to hold the line on consumption rates as well as garbage pickup means the overall increase is more accurately reflected as about a two per cent hike, he said.
"What we tried to do was provide sufficient dollars for us to maintain existing levels of service, perhaps even introduce new ones, while also recognizing the difficult economic times residents are enduring by keeping the increase to taxes reasonable."
Council overall agreed the budget as presented was sensible, he said.
The two-year operational budget includes the addition of a new position for a roads operator because most of the concerns expressed to the municipality from its residents tend to involve streets, he said.
"This will assist in providing a better level of service to our residents within a reasonable cost increase."
Worth noting, he added, is the fact town staff's salaries will not be increased in 2017. In 2018, there will only be a one per cent cost of living adjustment, said Pirie.
"Our staff has recognized the economic situation. Even though they're like everyone else being hit by increased costs, they're not receiving any cost of living increase for 2017."
The 2017 operational budget amounts to about $11.5 million, while the 2018 operational budget sits at $10.7 million.
