Staff
The $34.5-million municipal budget for 2017 received final approval from town council Monday night, with bills to be sent out at the end of this month.
This was a tough budget year for the town due to reassessment by the province’s Municipal Property Assessment Corp.
The town’s overall assessment was down $13 million for residential and commercial property classes–equalling a loss of $210,000 in tax revenues.
While the town is collecting the same amount of tax revenue this year, in order to still get that amount with all of the assessment drops, council had to adjust tax ratios somewhat.
The tax ratios determine the amounts to be collected from each property class.
For example, the residential tax rate is 1.28 percent higher than last year.
When residential property owners receive their final tax notices, 1,930 property assessments will increase–reflecting a tax increase of anywhere from $44 for 1,391 property owners to $1,161 for the top three.
Meanwhile, 1,136 residential property owners will see their taxes decrease an average of $166.
On the commercial side, the tax rates have been dropped by 1.7 percent for some commercial property owners, increased by .55 percent for others, and hiked nearly 64 percent for a few at the top end of the spectrum who have seen an assessment decrease.
The end result is a total of 133 property owners will see their tax bills go up anywhere from $40 for nearly half of them to $6,269 for one commercial property.
On the other hand, 125 commercial properties will see their taxes go down an average of $1,309.
Tax bills will be sent out at the end of June, with tax payments due on July 31 and Aug. 31.
This year, the town has an operating budget of $21,739,787, a capital budget of $7,568,731, and a water and sewer operating budget of $5,264,705 for a total of $34,573,223.
The total debt for the town at the end of 2016 was $2.43 million.
Any capital projects this year will be paid for through grants and reserve funds, with no additional long-term debt financing.
The budgeted debenture loan and interest payments for 2017 are $633,228, down from $640,120 in 2016.
The reserve fund balance for the end of 2016 was $11.135 million.
The capital budget allocation for 2017 will reduce the reserve funds by $2.718 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 2017 is estimated to be $11.259 million.
Council approved the 2017 budget, and passed all relevant bylaws, at its meeting Monday night.
Copies are available at the Civic Centre front desk for the public to view, as well as at www.fortfrances.ca
