Kincardine Council has met for its first round putting together this year’s municipal budget.
Beach News Reporter James Morgan tells us it won’t be an easy task for council to keep any increases low.
If the budget was adopted in its current form, it would mean the municipality would have to raise over 721 thousand dollars or over 13 percent more in taxes this year.
That’s unlikely to happen and staff would like to see an increase closer to 3.5 percent, meaning a property assessed at 150 thousand dollars would owe 23 more dollars in taxes.
However, that target amount might not be reached either.
Treasurer Brenda French says it’s up to council to decide how much the increase should be.
One of the big decisions council is facing is how much to use from reserves or to put back into them.
Another question is how to best fund the planned expansion to the medical clinic.
The municipality is also facing reduced revenue for the education portion of the payment-in-lieu of taxes it receives from Bruce Power and Ontario Power Generation.
Mayor Larry Kraemer says there has a been a drain on municipal reserves since taxes were reduced in the former Town of Kincardine five years ago.
He says with the current economic situation, this likely won’t be the best year to try to get reserve levels up again.
French refers to the reserves as the “cookie jar,” and says what generally happens is that reserves get drawn down for two or three years, and then should be built up again.
She acknowledges the current problems in the economy will be the big source of pressure for council to keep tax increases low.
Kraemer says one item he’d like to see cut from the budget is a controversial operational and organizational review of municipal staff that would come with a 125-thousand dollar price tag.
Kraemer hopes the budget process leads to a result that serves the community right and allows the municipality to function properly.
Council is still working its way through discussions on the 2009 operating budgets and meets again on Thursday for another round of discussions.
