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Property Tax Increase for 2009
[Salmon Arm] residents will be left with a 1.79 per cent tax increase and parks with more weeds after the city finished its final round of budget cuts Jan. 26.
City chief administrator Carl Bannister said council asked staff to bring back a list of further cuts to bring the budget down to a one per cent tax increase. At council's Jan. 12 meeting, council had reduced a potential tax increase from 7.25 per cent to 2.25 per cent. Following a split vote, council asked city staff to provide further reductions that would end up with a one per cent increase.
After examining staff's list, council nixed the purchase of aerating equipment for city sports fields, a savings of $26,000. A seasonal labourer position was eliminated from the parks department to save $65,670. Council also cut $15,000 from the production of the civic calendar, and $5,000 from general mosquito control.
City director of engineering and public works Dale McTaggart said the impact of service reduction in parks is that weeds will tend to grow more, and there will be taller grass in the less visible areas. He said on the second cutting, the weeds will be higher than the grass.
“We will still try to do as much work as in the past, but obviously there will be some shortfall.”
Attempts to cut weather stations that monitor field watering, the airport capital budget, and the $20,000 allocated for an OCP review were all defeated.
Bannister said it is customary when a city does an OCP review that there is a moratorium on OCP amendments.
“Quite often, OCP amendments are controversial, and people will request they be put on hold while the review is underway.”
Coun. Kevin Flynn said 2009 would be the worst year to eliminate potential projects because of an OCP review.
Coun. Alan Harrison pointed out it makes sense to do the OCP review when economic times are slower.
Coun. Chad Eliason noted that everyone at the council table campaigned for an OCP review during the election.
He said he understood the airport budget is an easy one to cut, but it benefits the long-term health of the community. He said without starting airport development, the city will not have the shovel-ready infrastructure projects needed to access federal government funding.
Mayor Marty Bootsma said the airport has already been put off several times.
“A serious economic climate doesn’t mean we have to lie down and play dead.”
After cuts, the city reached a 1.79 per cent increase in taxes.
Harrison pointed out that city council began with a 7.25 per cent tax increase at the beginning of the budget process.
“I think we’ve been very, very thorough.”
Harrison said much of the increase is out of city hands, with policing and fire department increases alone equalling a four per cent rise.
He added that the city anticipates 2.5 per cent in new growth. Harrison said some councillors think the reductions are not enough, but in this budget year he thinks the amount is about right.
“We have ensured that the basics of municipal infrastructure are still in place.”
Coun. Kevin Flynn said in the past he has been comfortable with five to seven per cent tax increases, but the city is in unprecedented times.
“In my seven years this has been the most difficult budget.”
Flynn added the budget is not just about where the city spends its dollars, but about where its revenue goes in the future.
By Mike Simmons - Salmon Arm Observer
Published: January 27, 2009 6:00 PM
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