There’s not a lot of wiggle room in Lake Country’s budget.
Council met Tuesday to hammer out a 2013 financial plan, which includes a three per cent tax increase.
“It doesn’t leave us with much (to work with),” said Coun. Owen Dickie.
Of that three per cent, 2.65 per cent is designated for policing and transit.
“We are running on a really tight budget.”
The positive news, though, is that $300,000 was saved by last year’s internal restructuring that saw some staffing positions eliminated.
Council met again Thursday but the results of those budget discussions were not known at press time.
“There are some additional requests to go through. We would like to do everything but we can’t,” said Dickie.
The green light has already been given to increasing the Beasley Park field lights and community centre renovations from $500,000 to $620,000.
The additional $120,000 will come from the capital works reserve.
“The cost of lighting is more than expected because of the water table there,” said Dickie. “And the construction industry is starting to pick up and quotes are coming in higher than anticipated.”
A three per cent tax increase equates to an extra $45 for a home assessed at $489,000.
