The first draft of the 2011 capital budget requests is enough to take the taxpayer’s breath away.
The wish list — and that’s all it is — represents an increase of just over 26 per cent from last year which would result in a 6 per cent increase in the tax rate.
Bruce County Clerk Treasurer Bettyanne Cobean says this year’s capital is pegged at just over 7.7 million dollars.
The wish list is over 9.8 million dollars.
However Cobean is quick to point out that the requests are just a guide for the new council to consider in budget discussions next year.
She says it’s highly unlikely we’re going to see the increases that are indicated on the draft document.
Bruce County Warden Mike Smith agrees.
He says council will priortize capital projects and only do those that need to be done with an eye to keeping a zero per cent increase for next year.
Highways and infrastructure represents the biggest chunk of the requests at almost 5 million dollars in work.
