An influx of new houses and businesses in Black Diamond could save taxpayers a few dollars this year.
Black Diamond Town council approved a 0.36 per cent increase to the town’s residential tax rate at its May 23 meeting. This means the owner of a typical house worth $337,000 could expect to pay $31.04 more in taxes than last year.
Meanwhile, non-residential properties can expect a decrease of just under one per cent, meaning a business estimated at $476,000 in value will see their tax bill drop by $200. The change comes after a 7.45 per cent increase in the Town’s operating budget over 2016 and the addition of businesses and homes.
“We’ve been able to offset most of it with the growth in the community,” said Mayor Glen Fagan. “We had 20-plus residences built so that brought in additional revenue and we also had two large businesses contributed, the car wash and Tim Hortons.”
The tax rate decisions came after council approved the Town’s 2017 budget at its May 17 meeting.
The final tax amounts include a $16,772.98 increase in the provincial education tax requisition and a $1,417.22 increase in the senior requisition. As well, the total assessment in the Town increased by $12,543,060 (3.5 per cent) over 2016.
Fagan said a growing community will help to buffer tax increases on existing residents.
“We are probably going to have at least one or two additional businesses and if the residential keeps going the way it’s going that will certainly offset some taxation in the coming years,” he said.
Council was split as it deciding on the tax rates and the Town’s $6.98 million operating budget.
Fagan said he wanted to see a lower contingency fund than the $100,000 approved, hoping for a smaller tax increase to residents. This year is the first Black Diamond has had such a fund, which is used for emergency situations.
“We struggled to come to an agreement on the amount of the contingency fund and the rates between residential and non-residential,” said Fagan.
Coun. Brian Marconi didn’t support the contingency fund and opposed setting aside $127,000 to pay the Town’s share of the cost for a park and ride facility and three buses in partnership with Turner Valley for the On-it Transit system in 2019.
“We eliminate those two we’ve got a zero increase in operating expenses,” he said. “To tell you the truth I like that number better.”
Coun. Jackie Stickel said grant funding for the project is contingent on the funding and the Town can’t afford to lose it.
Coun. Ruth Goodwin said the contingency fund is also a must for this year’s budget.
“You are providing a bit of a buffer for future decisions that are made,” she said. “I’m looking at that as an investment in the future of my community.”
Fagan said to help balance the numbers this year there have been cost reductions in some services, but that doesn’t necessarily mean services to residents and businesses are being cut.
“It means the dollar value we applied to do those services may have come down,” he said. “We are always looking for ways to improve operations and the same services at a lesser cost.”
Chief administrative officer Sharlene Brown said management each in parks and recreation, administration, public works, fire and bylaw are reviewing their operating budgets to see where costs can be cut.
“When we look at service levels we need to decide what do we need to do to reduce the operational spending,” she said. “If the community wants to have a reduction in their tax rate it’s now at the point where we have to look at a reduction in services levels and what options are available to us.”
Capital projects this year total just under $4 million, including about $3 million to replace damaged or aging water and sewer lines, and about $100,000 to relocate the council chambers to the lower level of the municipal building. About $50,000 is budgeted for a new health and safety program, almost $40,000 for new radios for the fire department, around $20,000 for the cemetery expansion and about $44,000 for new player boxes at Scott Seaman Stadium, among several other projects.
The cost for the capital projects are covered by grants, reserves and borrowing.
“Council and administration worked really hard to keep everything as low as possible and still do the work we do,” Brown said.
