The County of St. Paul passed its 2013 budget at last week’s regular council meeting, and despite decreasing its residential mill rate, many county ratepayers will still see a 3.75 per cent increase in property taxes when they receive their notices in the mail.
Reeve Steve Upham says he is happy to be able to present a balanced budget. He says he believe it’s important to be responsible, and this budget represents that. He further believes that the 2013 budget is allowing the county to build a strong base for the future, as he points to the new fire halls being built and roadwork being done.
“We’re just investing in the future,” says the reeve.
CAO Sheila Kitz explains that increases in both the school requisition and the MD Foundation requisition, along with an increase in assessments, resulted in a nine per cent increase in taxes, which is what led council to approve a reduction in the mill rate.
Neither the school nor the MD Foundation requisitions are controlled by the county.
“It’s unfortunate because sometimes taxes increase almost two per cent,” and it’s not like that money is going to building more roads or hiring more people, says Kitz as she explains the method in which the province collects money to give school boards.
According to the approved budget documents, the increase in the requisition for the MD Foundation and the school requisition caused an increase of 1.78 per cent for residential properties, 0.81 per cent for farmland properties, and 0.28 per cent increase to commercial/industrial properties.
A three per cent increase in market value is another factor to take into consideration, says Kitz.
“Assessment has seen growth of 3.78 per cent in 2012 due to new construction. Market values have increased causing an additional increase in assessments overall of 2.98 per cent,” says the budget document, which is available on the county’s website.
The increase in assessments did trigger an increase in taxes, confirms Upham. But, with that increase there will hopefully be better services provided to ratepayers.
On the non-residential side of things, council approved a 0.25 per cent increase to the non-residential mill rate, which translates to a 2.5 per cent increase in taxes, which will help meet the county’s budget requirements.
According to the 2013 budget, the county will collect $18.7 million in taxes, compared to the $17.6 budgeted in 2012. Administrative revenues have decreased in 2013 because of the $1 million contribution to the Wellness Centre last year.
Overall expenditures for 2013 are budgeted at $20.4 million, compared to $19.2 million in 2012.
One of the major highlights in the 2013 budget will be the construction of the two new fire halls in Mallaig and Ashmont. According to the budget document, the buildings are estimated to cost $2.2 million total.
“The budget contemplates them being funded through a debenture along with a contribution from the Summer Village of Horseshoe Bay of $90,000,” says the document. The debenture will be amortized over 15 years with annual payments of $172,554, however, in this budget the payment would only be half that amount.”
The 2013 budget also provides payment of half the cost of a fire command unit for the St. Paul fire chief. The total cost is being shared with the Town of St. Paul.
As for roads, the major project in 2013 will be the paving of the Northern Valley Road, which is located in the east part of the county, in Division 1 and 2. Half the project is being funded by the province under a resource road program and 25 per cent of the project will be covered by industry, in this case CNRL, says Kitz, while the remaining 25 per cent will be covered by the county. The cost of the project is $6 million.
Another big project that looks like it will be moving forward, and will now require some amendments to be made to the 2013 budget is the paving of all the lake subdivisions, which is about 78 km of road, says Kitz.
It is good timing to move forward with the project economically, says the CAO, adding, because the province isn’t doing as much road work, the county believes it will be able to get good pricing on the project. An invitational bid was already sent out and the county received four responses. Kitz says that it is often difficult for the county to get its equipment into the subdivisions and that the paving should last for 15-20 years.
The project is pegged at over $6 million and the money will be borrowed, with payments coming from the oiling budget. The 2013 budget sets aside $1.7 million for the oiling/paving of roads. The lake subdivisions included in the project are located across the county.
“It’s a big investment,” says Upham, but, the county will see savings in the long run.
The retrofitting of the public works building is another project worked into the budget this year. The retrofitting will cost about $500,000, however the county has been approved for up to $75,000 in funding for the project. The county will receive $25,000 for the project this year, and if energy consumption can be reduced by 30 per cent, it will receive an additional $50,000.
On the water/sewer side of things, the county will be tendering out the upgrading of the Ashmont Water Treatment plant but there is an estimated shortfall of over half a million dollars right now, says Kitz. In 2012 the county installed a water transmission line from Ashmont to Lottie Lake.
“The uncertainty in this budget is the amount of provincial funding. At this point we are unsure of whether the province will fund the project past the amount they approved in 2011,” says the budget document. The grant application that had been sent in initially for the project was based on a 2009 water study, “and admittedly by the engineer at the time, the amount requested for funding was less than required to complete the project.”
Council did approve a $0.25 increase per cubic meter for water in Ashmont, Mallaig and Lottie Lake, as the first step to the implementation of the new water policies that council passed in 2012.
On the recreation side of things, campers will notice an increase to fees at county-operated parks when staying overnight. The county also approved an increase of $5,000 to both the Town of St. Paul and the Town of Elk Point for its recreation contribution.
Also, since approving an increase to the libraries in February, council has approved “an additional increase of $20,000” for both the St. Paul and Elk Point libraries, says the budget.
At last week’s regular council meeting, council also discussed concerns about MSI Operating Funding. According to a letter received by Kitz, the province will be reducing the funding over the next two years, and as of 2016 it will no longer be available.
This year, the County of St. Paul received over $250,000 in MSI Operating Funding, so, “it’s significant,” says Kitz. The money is used to fund community halls, agricultural societies, libraries and some recreation.
Upham invites ratepayers to attend this year’s annual general meeting to ask questions and listen to the presentation of the audited financial statements. The meeting is scheduled to take place on May 2 at the public works shop.
