Westlock County residents are facing a projected three per cent mill rate increase after council passed the municipality’s 2016 operating and capital budgets last week.
At their Feb. 9 meeting councillors passed the $25.3 million operating budget, which represents an 8.5 per cent increase from 2015. At the same time, the $.9 million capital budget was approved.
“If no new information comes forward, it would be a three per cent, but we’re not setting that today,” said reeve Bud Massey.
In a recorded vote, the documents narrowly passed 5-2, with councillors Mel Kroetsch and Albert St. Louis voting against the budgets.
“I’m going to vote against the budget because I feel there could have been deeper cuts in areas,” said St. Louis.
“I think a three per cent [mill rate] increase is high. I realize we’ve lost linear assessment, but I think a lot of this budget has been passed on to the ratepayer.”
Massey admitted the budget isn’t ideal, but said it was the best the municipality could do given the situation.
“I think most of us are not happy with the budget. It’s tough times, and what it’s tough times, you have to make tough decisions,” the reeve stated.
“When you have to make tough decisions, some of that is making decisions that you wish you didn’t have to make.”
Massey later explained tough decisions were made to try and keep increases minimal while providing the same levels of service.
“[It was] an attempt to find the balance [between] the things we need to do, the things we want to do and trying to hold any increases to a minimum, even though we had lost significant revenue through linear [assessment],” he said.
“It appears tax assessment may come down … we certainly lost $400,000 in linear assessment and we had a two-and-a-half per cent wage increase.”
Major projects, including an upgrade to the Jarvie Water Plant, bridge replacements and a new fire hall in Fawcett, highlight $4.9 million in budgeted capital expenditures.
“We get between $100,000 and $110,000 for every one per cent tax increase,” Massey said.
“What we’ve had to do in this budget is find a way to take that tax money and fund those projects, without increasing the taxes a like amount.”
The budget requires the municipality to borrow over $940,000 via provincial debentures to see the projects through.
The Jarvie Water Plant upgrade, at a cost of $1.9 million, is covered off by nearly $1.3 million in grant funding, while the remaining $636,667 will come from municipal reserves.
Construction of a new fire hall in Fawcett will require the county to borrow $425,000.
Two bridge replacements and bridge rehabs costing $1.3 million will be covered off completely by MSI and gas tax funding.
Council will borrow $516,800 to purchase two new graders at a cost of $780,800. The sale of current equipment will cover the balance.
The county will run a balanced operating budget of $25.35 million.
The operating side is highlighted by nearly $10.8 million is spending on transportation services, which represents over 42 per cent of overall spending.
In 2015 transportation services cost $10.3 million, equating to 44 per cent of overall spending.
Water services will cost $2.6 million, nearly a three-fold increase over the $1 million allocated in 2015. The county stands to earn $2.7 million in revenues from water services.
County residents will see water rate increases to cover off the costs.
“There will be a small increase. There has been an increase in the landfill tippage rates, but we have absorbed that through taxes,” Massey said.
