ANTIGONISH: The Town of Antigonish is the latest municipality to pass their 2020-21 budget without increasing tax rates.
Council unanimously approved its $10.7 million municipal operating budget along with itsr $2.1 million capital project plan during a special meeting June 8.
The residential rate remains at $1.09 per $100 of assessment; the town’s commercial rate stays put at $2.61.
Following the meeting, Mayor Laurie Boucher said this has been a difficult time for everyone, having both residential and commercial tax ratepayers being impacted.
“We asked staff to make sure that they tighten our budget as much as we can, without hindering some development as well,” she said. “You go through what we’ve gone through the last eight weeks with COVID-19, to come up with a $10.7 million budget [and a] $2.1 million capital budget, and not having the need to raise taxes, is very, very good.”
As for the total hit to the town’s bottom line due to COVID-19, it’s excess of $150,000.
“It really hurt our town economically; to have an extra burden on our commercial and our residential ratepayers, right now would have been very hard,” Boucher said. “By working with staff, our council was able to ensure that the town was able to still undertake a variety of capital projects that will add to the vibrancy, accessibility and safety of our community.”
Highlights of the town’s ambitious capital plan this year that includes $688,000 for nine street and parking lot paving projects, 80 per cent of which are covered through cost sharing initiatives, reserve funding and the federal gas tax income. In addition, the town has set aside $243,000 for sidewalk repairs, $50,0000 for crosswalk beacons and $100,000 for refurbishment of the town’s racquet courts on Main Street.
Through the town’s general operations, staff will be conducting a comprehensive update to the physical activity strategy, developing a community accessibility plan and creating a public notice/alert system for residents.
Some of the major expenses included in this year’s budget include a mandatory $2.4 million contribution to protective service which accounts for 23 per cent of the budget, along with a $1.4 million contribution to education, equivalent to 14 per cent of their budget.
Many of the operational and capital projects the town has set for the upcoming year are consistent with the community’s top priorities while keeping social, fiscal, and environmental well-being top of mind, as identified in the recently adopted Municipal Planning Strategy.
The town is also continuing to support local community groups through the Community Grant program and is investing in vital community programming such as Antigonish Community Transit, the St. Martha’s Regional Hospital Foundation and the Antigonish Heritage Museum.
The town and municipality will also be completing the work on the highly anticipated dog park later this year, which will be located behind Club 60 on Frank McGibbon Lane.