PORT HAWKESBURY: Officials in the Town of Port Hawkesbury have held the line on municipal taxes.
Council unanimously approved their 2019-20 municipal operating and capital budget during a special public meeting late last month.
Both the residential and commercial tax rates remain the same, and there is no financial change, but they’re structured differently as the sewer rate has been dug out and is now separate, rather than the prior all-inclusive rate.
The new tax rate breakdown for residential properties is $1.58 per $100 of assessment plus the $0.22 of assessment sewer service charge, for a combined total of $1.80.
Commercial tax rates come in at $4.16, plus the sewer service charge totaling $4.38/$100 of assessment.
Brenda Chisholm-Beaton, Port Hawkesbury’s mayor, told The Reporter there were a number of factors which affected their $7.8 million budget, but maintaining the tax rate was something council had as a priority.
“I think that it’s important to try to live within our means,” she said. “It is important that we are able to provide our citizens with services that they expect, and to try to manage our infrastructure needs and participate in exciting projects without having to pass financial burden on our citizens.”
Chisholm-Beaton indicated one of the biggest topics they discussed during their budget deliberations is assessing where their roads are and prioritizing road infrastructure needs and how to maximize the benefits that they’re able to provide to partner groups and organizations.
“This council in particular, we do have a keen interest in looking at our road assets that we have here in town and the infrastructure below the roads,” she said. “And we really want to make some strides and come up with a long term vision on how we tackle the infrastructure challenges that we have in that regard.”
Chisholm-Beaton spoke on the importance of having a competitive tax rate and said attracting new residents and business was a major reason why tax rates weren’t increased.
“Council believes it’s definitely worth the extra time to really look at all angles for our budget so we can ensure we’re putting enough investments in projects that need to be done while managing revenue.”
Some of the major expenses included in this year’s budget include a mandatory $1.56 million contribution to protective protection, which accounts for 20 per cent of the budget, and a $1.17 million contribution to the Civic Centre, which accounts for 15 per cent.
The budget also highlights $2.79 million in capital investments including $1.1 million in treatment plant and distribution system upgrades; a complete street rebuild on Tamarac Drive including curb, median, and sidewalk, active transportation facilities, signage, street amenities, lighting and parkettes; the purchase of a sidewalk plow and sweeper; and the replacement of a new aerial ladder truck for the fire department.
Also included in this year’s budget was an increase to the stipends of councillors due to a recent federal tax change, that used to allow for a tax-free portion of the stipend.
Chisholm-Beaton recalled that while facing financial pressure in 2015, council increased the tax rates by 16 cents and in a sign of good faith, agreed to reduce their stipends by 10 per cent. She noted that the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities both recommended making increases to stipends.
The total cost last year for the mayor and four council members was $88,743 and next year, they have budgeted $108,810 – a $20,067 or 22.6 per cent increase.
After the economic adjustment, the salaries are now: mayor, $34,993; deputy mayor, $20,084; and councillor, $17,910 – which are still considerably lower than their nearest neighbours.