Taxes.
Most people hate the word, and hate paying them even more.
But, when a municipality has to provide services to its community, particularly one like Cochrane that is growing at such a rapid pace, taxes are a necessity.
Town administration made its first presentation to Cochrane’s new council Oct. 28, and foremost on the agenda (the only item on the agenda) was the 2014 budget, one that is proposing to raise property taxes on Cochranites by 1.49 per cent.
The suggested increase equates to $2.63 each month for an average single-family home in Cochrane…average being assessed at $428,200.
This time last year, Cochrane homeowners were looking at a 6.75 per cent increase in taxes, 5.37 per cent constituting the amount offered to the International Association of Fire Fighters to pay for fire services.
Property taxes are the main source of revenue for the Town of Cochrane, making up 48 per cent of its total income, so it goes without saying that if the town is to provide the types of services many Cochranites were calling for during the election, such as various road and capital infrastructure projects, it has to get its money from somewhere.
But what about bettering the balance of Cochrane’s current tax base? Presently sitting at 87 per cent residential to 13 per cent commercial, this was another focus of many candidates during the election, including many who were elected.
There’s not a whole lot that can be done about the current tax base for 2014, but it will be fascinating to see if these numbers make any shift over the next four years.
During what was essentially a family event for Cochrane’s new council members to celebrate successful campaigns, one new face in chambers brought about a chuckle with his comments about the proposed 2014 budget during their first meeting after being sworn in Oct. 28.
Morgan Justice Nagel, a young, first-time councillor, who many Cochranites can’t help but compare to another youngster who held a seat on council and later mayor, couldn’t help but point out his displeasure with a budget that ‘raises taxes and maintains debt.’
Nagel said he couldn’t wait to ‘sink his teeth’ into the budget, something councillor Jeff Toews commended as an enthusiastic approach.
Nagel, who has worked for the federal Conservative Party of Canada, could have sounded like he was voicing the conservative talking points to some, or, for others, like a young, ambitious politician, launching a career at the municipal level that could take him places in the future.
Either way, it will be interesting to see if Nagel does ‘sink his teeth’ into Cochrane’s 2014 budget, and whether he’s able to take a bite and swallow it down.
