JULIE BERTRAND/Independent reporter
Stettler residents can look forward to a slight municipal tax increase. Town council approved its 2011 operational budget and passed the taxation bylaw at its regular meeting on May 16.
“Council looked at 10 different options for taxes,” said Greg Switenky, assistant CAO for the town.
Residential and non-residential taxpayers will both get a municipal tax increase of three per cent.
“The important thing here to realize is with this modest increase, we’re still providing the same services that we always have as well as putting $50,000 aside for the seniors centre updating and relocating fund, $65,000 for future library expansion, $500,000 for SRC re-design, an additional $15,000 into a fund that supports arts and culture, and we’re putting $100,00 for the purchase of a new fire truck,” said mayor Dick Richards.
However, as the education property tax requisition and the Stettler Housing Authority requisition have both decreased their rates, residential taxpayers will get a combined property tax increase of 2.99 per cent while non-residential taxpayers will get an increase of 1.26 per cent.
While council had passed a two per cent increase on residential and non-residential taxes in the interim budget that was approved in December, council reviewed its decision in the last months.
“What we were hit with, which we didn’t know back in December, is that we got a reduced amount of funding from the Municipal Sustainability Initiative from the provincial government,” said Richards.
Due to cuts being made by the Alberta government, Stettler will get a Municipal Sustainability Initiative grant of $91,335.
Council had originally anticipated getting $263,073.
“We have a net loss of about of about $171,000 compared to last year’s funding,” said Richards.
The 2011 property tax increases will generate an additional $118,181 for municipal purposes from pre-existing 2010 taxpayers.
The estimated municipal expenditures and transfers set out in the budget for the town of Stettler for 2011 total is $14,849,490.