Spallumcheen council vows to limit municipal tax collection.
Council has directed staff to have a second draft of the 2015 five-year financial plan include a 2.48 per cent municipal tax collection increase.
“We went through the plan line by line and went in there and just cut,” said Mayor Janice Brown, adding that the current plans calls for no reductions of service, nor any staff reductions.
“We’ve taken a third of the farm tax off, and we’ve moved projects forward that don’t necessarily have to be done at this very moment.”
Council is able to lower the proposed increased by taking into account such thing as former administrator Greg Betts, now a consultant for the township, is no longer paid by the municipality, as he was at the beginning of 2014. Betts’ pay comes from gas tax funding.
It also appears the township will be ahead about $78,000 on its 2015 capital road projects, although the budget hasn’t changed as council takes a wait-and-see approach on the projects.
“We won’t know until the projects are completed,” said Brown.
“It’s good news,” said Brown of the budget. “And we’re still not done.”
Council will receive the second draft of the 2015 financial plan for consideration at Monday’s committee of the whole meeting at 6 p.m.
The next opportunity for public input about the financial plan will be at 6:30 p.m. April 7 at the township hall.
