Foothills residents could be looking at a 2.5 per cent increase on their taxes next year. MD council began discussing its 2018-2019 budget on Nov. 7 with budget and finance officer Bill Robinson. “Right now the way the budget stands we’re looking at a mill rate increase between two and 2.5 per cent,” said Robinson. That anticipated mill rate increase is expected to raise ratepayers’ tax bill by a similar percentage. Though specific budget items have not been released yet, Robinson said part of the reason is an anticipated 2.75 per cent increase in provincial school requisitions in 2019. There is just under $6 million in requests for capital projects in 2019, he said, which is less than the $10 million requested in 2018 for large purchases. “It’s just a bit of a lull in the capital purchases this year,” said Robinson. “We’ve been doing quite a few over the past few years but we’ve caught up a little bit.” The capital budget will be balanced with Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) funding and gas tax grants amounting to about $5.7 million, he said. Operations should be similar in 2019 with the same level of road maintenance, with a provision for increased road crews this year, he said. “We can probably gear up to get that back to doing some road construction over the next couple of years,” said Robinson. MD CAO Harry Riva Cambrin said one of the hardest parts of budgeting is estimating fuel and oil costs for the following year. “The price of fuel and the price of oil have a huge impact on our budget,” said Riva Cambrin. “You have to be fairly conservative in where that might lead.” For every one-cent increase in fuel costs, the MD sees an increase of $15,000 in its overall expenses, he said. Reeve Larry Spilak said a two to 2.5 per cent increase is reasonable given some of the challenges being faced by municipalities this year with lower real estate values and increased growth and demand for services. “We’re experiencing the same as other jurisdictions,” said Spilak. “But we’re holding our own.” He said the MD of Foothills public works department worked hard from the spring through the fall to find as many efficiencies as possible, which saved the municipality some money and allowed the MD to keep increases below average. However, a rise in taxes in inevitable, he said. “Really, the average cost of living index is somewhere around two per cent, so it’s fairly hard to go less than that, and to be able to maintain the services that are provided,” said Spilak.
