Duane Hicks
The 2015 municipal budget received final approval Monday night, which includes a residential tax levy increase of 1.9 percent.
While this means the town is collecting nearly two percent more in that class than last year, the residential tax rate actually is decreasing by one percent this year, town treasurer Laurie Witherspoon explained at Monday night’s council meeting.
What this means is that a residential property owner could pay less depending on their assessment.
For example, the owner of a residential property valued at $100,000 would have paid $1,890.82 in 2014.
The taxes for that same property in 2015 will be $1,870.02—a reduction of $20.80 if the assessment remained the same.
However, the current value assessment for residential properties has gone up an average of 3.04 percent.
This means that a property valued at $100,000 in 2014 will, in fact, pay $36.05 more in taxes than in 2015.
Accordingly, the tax rate for multi-residential has gone up 1.8 percent, dropped 1.2 percent for commercial occupied, gone up 0.18 for industrial, increased by 0.566 for large industrial, decreased 0.33 for pipelines, and gone down one percent for farmland.
This year, the town has balanced budget of $21,992,180. The 2015 expenditures are $252,465 less than last year.
Witherspoon noted that taxpayers’ 2015 tax dollars, for every $100, are distributed as follows:
•Rainy River District Social Services Administration Board—$15.38;
•Police—$14.41;
•Schools boards—$12.97;
•Community Services (Memorial Sports Centre, day care, library, museum, marina, and Sunny Cove)—$12.38;
•Operations and Facilities (roads, cemeteries, parks, airport, and waste management)—$10.02;
Fire/911 services—$7.05;
•Contributions to reserve funds—$6.97;
•Administration/council/economic development—$5.63;
•Long-term debt—$5.25;
•Reduced assessment/taxation write-offs—$2.91;
•Northwestern Health Unit—$2.78;
•Planning and Development (including bylaw)—$2.73;
•Rainycrest Home for the Aged—$0.91; and
•Local hospital/physician recruitment—$0.61.
A total of $49.36 of every $100 is for uncontrollable costs/services, including education, health unit, DSSAB, and Rainycrest levies, as well as the OPP policing contract.
While the health unit and DSSAB levies went up $2,576 and $129,097, respectively, this year, the Rainycrest and policing contract went down $60,628 and $225,438, respectively.
As of the end of the 2014 fiscal year, the town’s reserve funds were at $14.278 million.
The capital budget allocation for 2015 will reduce the reserve funds by $4.246 million as the town will spend this money on projects, vehicles and equipment, buildings, and water and sewer work.
But after contributions to reserves this year, the projected reserve fund balance by the end of 2015 is estimated to be $11.170 million.
Mayor Roy Avis said he was pleased with the budget.
“We came up with a very, very good budget in very, very tough times, especially with the mill situation we’ve got,” he noted.
“We did the best we could with what we had.”
Council approved the 2015 budget and passed all relevant bylaws at Monday night’s meeting.
Tax bills will be sent out soon, with tax payments due on July 31 and Aug. 31.
