ANTIGONISH COUNTY: For the 14th straight year, the Municipality of the County of Antigonish has held the line on municipal taxes.
Council unanimously approved its $19-million municipal operating budget and $8.5-million capital budget during a special council meeting on May 30.
The residential rate remains $0.88 per $100 of assessment, which is among the lowest rates in the province, while their commercial rate remains at $1.44 and is the lowest commercial tax jurisdiction in the province.
“County council is proud of this year’s budget. It invests in the renewal and expansion of infrastructure,” Warden Owen McCarron said. “It supports tourism through the establishment of a tourism strategy and funding for local events. It provides for efficiency and renewable energy upgrades for community centres and supports community organizations from one end of the county to the other.”
With everything else around them going up in price, the warden explained they were able to maintain the tax rates by looking at some of their capital projects, how they pay for things over time, mixed with a few other factors.
“We’ve also managed to continue to pay down debt and have tried to contain costs where we can,” McCarron said. “This year we also have a significant amount of capital work planned, including the Active Transportation Corridor, which will transform our community.”
Some of the major expenses included in this year’s $19,200,000 budget are a mandatory $4,263,486 contribution to the Strait Regional Centre for Education, which accounts for 22.1 per cent of the overall budget.
The county also has a mandatory $4,102,442 contribution to protective services that covers the RCMP, fire protection rates, the Emergency Measures Organization, and fire departments, accounting for 21.3 per cent of the budget.
The budget has increased $1,570,000 from last year, the warden noted.
“Like all municipalities, Antigonish County has and it experiencing upward pressures on its expenses as prices climb,” McCarron said. “Assessment growth and mitigating measures have allowed the county to continue to invest in the community while maintaining the residential, resource tax rate.”
McCarron explained their $8,500,000 capital plan is fairly significant and includes projects such as: the expansion of the Antigonish County Water Utility in St. Josephs and Lanark; construction of Phase 1 of the Active Transportation Corridor; efficiency upgrades and Solar PV installations at nine community centres; construction of sidewalks, curb and gutter on Vincent’s Way, South River Road and Beech Hill Road; improvements to the Beech Hill Transfer Station and improvements to the county court house.
The county has also issued $570,000 in grants and contributions to support community groups and projects, such as the lifeguard services at Bayfield Beach, Strait Area Search and Rescue and Beaver Mountain Park, among others.
Additionally, the Low Income Property Tax Exemption has been maintained so that households earning less than $36,000 can receive up to $300 towards their property taxes; a threshold increase of $3,000 from last year.