As council prepares to deliberate over the upcoming $52.6 million budget it will be interesting to see how some members around the table choose to handle the proposed three per cent tax increase.
Couns. Morgan Nagel, Alex Reed, and Mayor Jeff Genung campaigned on keeping taxes low and raising them as a last resort, while others focused on balanced spending and focusing on needs over wants.
Coun. Tara McFadden campaigned on council’s previous taxation record, which saw an average increase of only .45 per cent between 2014 and 2017. In that time period, the largest increase was 2.9 per cent in 2015 but was offset by a decrease of 2.5 per cent in 2014.
Council’s ability to keep taxes low was a direct result of the town’s much lamented growth. Year-over-year population increases exceeding the predicted levels of growth resulted in considerably more than anticipated revenue.
If this new council keeps to the campaign speak of trying to hold future residential expansion in check, tax increases can only be held at bay through more frugal spending. It’s an interesting predicament considering many of the campaigns also focused on the need to improve infrastructure such as roads, which are far from cheap. If all of the latter proves true, then the question is what service spending will be sacrificed?
Looking at the budget, the easy answer is the town’s proposed staffing increases – equivalent to nearly 12 new full-time employees. At an increase in spending of $1.6 million staffing represents 43 per cent of the budget’s $3.7 million budget increase. Five of the eight full-time equivalent positions proposed – the remainder are part-time or seasonal – are for fire services and policing.
Another thing to keep in mind is the town’s 10-year financial plan, which outlines everything from new capital projects, to equipment replacement to debt servicing – debt that is predicted to grow to 86 per cent of the municipal limit by 2024.
In order to achieve that plan, tax rates will have to continue to increase by three per cent each year for the next 10 years, resulting in a compounded increase of 35 per cent, assuming a sustained growth rate of four per cent.
All those factors mean councillors are going to have some tough choices ahead if they are going to maintain their campaign promises.
