Duane Hicks
The 2015 budget process is all but finalized, with council unanimously voting in favour of the operating and capital budgets in principle at Monday’s budget meeting here, with the bottom line to the taxpayer being as minimal as possible.
The budget includes a 1.91 percent tax increase for residential properties and 1.18 percent increase for commercial.
Of the 2,300 residential properties in Fort Frances, the majority (1,792) will go up an average of $41.
A total of 365 will go up an average of $137, a total of 122 will go up an average of $242, 19 will go up an average of $341, and two will increase by $582.
However, due to a reduction in the education tax rate, a total of 769 residential properties will be going down an average of $14.
Meanwhile, of the 1,121 commercial properties in town, 1,001 of them will go up an average of $1,704.
A total of 48 will go up an average of $40, 31 will go up an average of $147, 18 will go up an average of $245, 12 will increase by an average of $372, six will go up an average of $593, three will go up an average of $822, and one will go up an average of $14,578.
But at the same time, taxes for 138 commercial properties will decrease by an average of $124.
Taxes also will be going up for the town’s 19 multi-residential properties, with the increases ranging from $111 to $1,550 and a mean average increase of $648.
All of the classes will increase, some more than others. The total dollar increase per class this year, not including payment in-lieu properties, is as follows: residential ($149,041); farm ($10); multi-residential ($12,316); commercial occupied ($21,051), commercial excess land ($729); commercial vacant land ($1,015); industrial occupied ($4,712); industrial excess land ($623); industrial vacant land ($1,317); large industrial ($6,235); and pipeline ($2,638).
The tax increase is to raise a total of $215,035—$140,680 of this is to cover the operating budget shortfall, while the balance of $74,355 is to cover long-term debt (principle and interest).
Mayor Roy Avis said he was satisfied with the budget, keeping in mind that 50 percent of the budget consists of “uncontrollable” costs, including the Rainy River District Social Services Administration Board levy.
“The DSSAB board came in with a five percent increase. That really affected our budget,” he noted. “We almost had to go back to the drawing board again in order to look at where our numbers are going to come from.”
Mayor Avis said he would have liked to have seen a tax increase of less than one percent.
“But knowing the inflation rate is at 1.8-1.9 percent, and faced with an increase of that magnitude, we had to try and come up with a compromise, and we did so at the 1.9 percent,” he explained, noting that the increase for commercial is also fair as it falls within the rate of inflation.
“It’s a concern of ours that we do not tax ourselves out of the market, and we’re trying to stay within those guidelines,” added Mayor Avis.
Mayor Avis said the “financial stability of our community is in good shape.”
“We try to keep as low as possible long-term debt but still maintain the community at a level we all want to enjoy,” he remarked.
“Our Community Services, we’ve been very fair with their budgets,” added Mayor Avis. “Our roads, our sewer and water—we’re doing projects every year. So we are looking at the capital costs as well as the operational costs and finding a balance and going forward from there.”
Mayor Avis also thanked all of the town managers and administration for their hard work on the 2015 budget.
Coun. Ken Perry said that with the current economic climate, the town has “felt the pinch over the last few years,” and to come in with under a two percent tax increase this year is “remarkable.”
However, Coun. Perry said he would like to see the library board and Community Services take a harder look at reducing costs, or at least hold the line, in next year’s budget.
“Over the last 10 years, we have cut 25 percent of the people working for this town, and the majority of them came out of town hall and Public Works and that has to stop,” he remarked.
Coun. Perry said that if the mill doesn’t get bought and restarted, the only thing the town has left to do is “put a whole lot of pressure on Community Services.”
“And it will happen at one time. I don’t think that’s going to be fair but it’s going to happen,” he added.
Bylaws related to the 2015 budget will be prepared for the April 13 meeting council, with a public presentation of the budget likely to follow at the April 27 council meeting.
Reserve fund boost
Meanwhile, council also agreed Monday to contribute surplus funds from 2014 in the amount of $1,817,518.23 to reserves.
These contributions include:
•Children’s Complex project: $112,345.24;
•post landfill closure fund: $49,085.74;
•waterworks and sanitary sewer: $559,673.23;
•corporate projects: $506,414.02; and
•corporate contingency: $590,000.
Some of the surplus can be attributed to underspending of legal fees budgeted, Children’s Complex excess revenue, the sale of a Huffman Court lot, and a surplus in waste management.
The reserve fund balance at the end of 2015 is projected to be $11,124,969.38.
