Westlock County ratepayers will have no increase in the mill rate for 2013 based on the budget council approved at the Jan. 22 meeting.
“It’s good news for the county,” reeve Charles Navratil said. “We’ve managed to hold our budget, so there won’t be an increase to the mill rate.”
Tax bills may increase, however, depending on property assessments and the amount of requisitions for education and the Westlock Foundation.
Ratepayers will find themselves paying a bit more for utilities, however, as council approved a five-per-cent increase to utility rates and a $10 increase to garbage collection fees.
With respect to the operating budget, total expenses increased by $800,000 to about $23.5 million, up from $22.7 million last year.
Notable changes from 2012 to 2013 include a $72,000 increase in contributions to the town’s recreation services in accordance with the existing cost-sharing agreement and a $52,000 increase to fire services for engineering a new fire hall.
The budget was passed by a vote of 5-1, with Coun. Jim Wiese voting against it.
Prior to the vote, he raised concerns about where the extra $800,000 would come from.
“How can we approve a budget that’s $795,000 more? How can we believe there’s going to be no change to the mill rate? That money has to come from somewhere,” he said.
County manager Edward LeBlanc explained that the money would come from a combination of transfers from reserves and grants from higher levels of government.
On the capital side, council approved nearly $13 million in expenditures. This includes about $6.5 million for road-related projects, $1 million for water projects, $780,000 for new equipment and vehicles and $2.7 million for buildings, including $2 million for a new ski chalet in Tawatinaw.
Those projects will be funded through a combination of grants, transfers from reserves and $2.7 million of new debt — earmarked specifically for a new grader, work on Township Road 590 and the new ski chalet.
One proposed item that was cut at the last minute was $250,000 to loop water and sewer services to some unserviced lots in the county’s industrial park.
“We have several lots there serviced and not sold, with zero sales in 2012,” Coun. Jim Wiese said. “I would like that removed. If it was any of us spending our own money and we had lots serviced but not sold, we wouldn’t be spending money on servicing more lots.”
The capital budget passed unanimously and Wiese did not vote on it, as his company may bid on some of the projects included in it.
