Taxpayers will see a 2.7% increase to their property taxes this year.
City Council completed cuts last night after staff found $302,000 in unspent funds from previous years.
Mayor Sharie Minions says she’s pleased with how the budget came together this year.
“We have increased our spending on infrastructure by about 20% over last year and we’ve been able to support the RCMP with some additional spending there as well,” said Minions. “As a whole, I’m quite pleased with this budget, especially given that we were able to have a smaller tax increase than we were expecting.”
Minions said infrastructure spending increases from $800,000 last year to almost a million dollars this year.
The 2.7% increase means an additional $70 to the average single family home.
The McLean Mill was the main point of debate during the budget process this year.
Council wrestled with the needs of the mill and the steam train groups, breaking their budgets apart and investing solely with McLean Mill Society this year.
Rebuilding the log pond dam is expected to cost the city $263,000, and they’re weeks away from an estimate on possible contamination and soil remediation work requirements.
The original capital budget for McLean Mill was $191,000, but society representatives said they needed just $126,000 if council chose the minimum level of activity for the National Historic Site.
Council accepted, but put the $65,000 difference in a contingency fund saying safety remains their main priority for the site.
