Town council voted to increase the municipal tax rate for both residential and non-residential properties by two per cent, but depending on property assessment, residents and businesses may be paying more, or less, than that.
Municipal taxes are only part of the tax levied on community properties. When adding on the school levy and the housing authority levy, the average tax increase is 1.68 per cent for residential properties, and 1.44 per cent for non-residential properties, town CAO Greg Switenky explained.
Property assessments in the town have gone down over the past year, in part due to the economic situation in the province. This means that some properties will be taxed even less than additional the 1.68 or 1.44 per cent. Others, who have assessments valued above the average, can see tax rate hikes higher than 1.68 and 1.44 per cent.
For the past several years, the town has increased taxes three per cent each budget, which allows the town to bring in enough funding to keep the community "moving forward," Switenky said. Necessary projects, like roads, water/wastewater, and community policing and fire protection remain adequately funded, as well as improved upon.
"It's important we don't fall behind," Switenky said, explaining that if the town froze taxes, the tax burden would simply be larger down the road.
Each year, the town looks at the same properties in the community to create a consistent snapshot of the impact of tax increases. One of those properties is valued at roughly $275,000. With the tax increase, the property owner would be looking at an additional cost of about $83 a year.