Westlock residents should expect an increase on their property tax bills of approximately 3.5 per cent after town councillors passed their budget last week.
Councillors voted unanimously to pass the town’s 2014 operating and capital budgets during their Feb. 25 meeting. They unveiled it to the public at an open house on Feb. 27 at the Westlock Rotary Spirit Centre.
Once released, mayor Ralph Leriger said he and his fellow councillors were happy with the document they produced.
“Overall, it sets the stage for 2014, which is going to be a transition year,” he said. “It sets in place the plans for Westlock over the next 10 to 20 years.”
At the moment, residential property taxes are set to jump to approximately $827 per $100,000 of assessment. This is a 3.5-per-cent jump from 2013, when the rate was $799 per $100,000 of assessment. The increase accounts for 0.95 per cent inflation and an as-yet-undetermined increase in the mill rate.
The town is budgeting to collect $5.9 million in tax revenue this year, which is included in a total of $14.7 million in overall revenue from all town departments.
In terms of expenses, the town is budgeting to spend $14.1 million.
The bottom line is the town expects to run a $647,000 surplus in 2014.
However, finance director Julia Seppola said those numbers could change in the coming weeks, as the town has not yet been told what the school and Westlock Foundation requisitions are.
Once those requisitions are known, the exact budgetary figures can be determined and the mill rate bylaw will be presented to council.
Regardless of the final requisition totals, Leriger said council believes the budget is a strong document that will benefit Westlock now and into the future.
If Westlock is to succeed, it is going to need to work on increasing its tax base, and this budget is one step in that direction.
In passing the budget, councillors also presented a number of priorities for 2014.
At the top of that list is keeping the Westlock and District Seniors and Disabled bus on the road for at least the rest of year.
Town manager Dean Krause said the bus service will run a deficit of close to $54,000 in 2014. Keeping it running beyond this year will necessitate an even greater expense, as the vehicle itself is nearing the end of its lifecycle.
Despite the deficit the service will run this year, Leriger said the bus was councillors’ top priority because it is “absolutely needed.”
However, he acknowledged its fate beyond 2014 does depend on a lot of research into ridership, appropriate fares and partnerships with other entities.
Another major project that will have its start in 2014 is the removal and replacement of the water tower. An underground reservoir is planned to replace the tower, and will be located in the same park.
Krause explained the water tower needs to be replaced, and the plan for 2014 is to complete the engineering work; constructing the new reservoir and demolishing the tower are slated for 2015.
Although the budget was approved at a council meeting, it got its public unveiling at an open house on the second floor of the Westlock Rotary Spirit Centre on Feb. 27.
“It’s all about transparency,” Leriger said.
The open house was a chance for residents to see the budget laid out before them, as well as give them an opportunity to speak to councillors and administration in order to get a better grasp on the document.
Each town department had a display set up explaining what the department does, its accomplishments and challenges, how much the department costs, how much revenue it generates and how much of each tax dollar is used to pay for the department.
The three sectors of the town that cost the most are transportation services at 28.1 cents of every tax dollar, recreation services at 22.2 cents, and administration at 18.2 cents.
The upper floor of the Spirit Centre was bustling with people for most of the evening, and while Leriger said he wasn’t sure how many people came out, he was happy there were so many.
“I’m ecstatic at the turnout,” the mayor said, adding it means the electorate is engaged and wants to be informed about what is going on.
