Teeny-tiny tax increase in Neepawa

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Teeny-tiny tax increase in Neepawa

Details: Published on Saturday, April 21, 2018

Town unveils 2018 financial plan

By Eoin Devereux

Neepawa Banner & Press

Municipal taxes for Neepawa property owners are going up…but not really. On Tuesday, Apr. 17, Town Council reviewed the details of its 2018 financial plan. The impact to the average homeowners will see them paying an additional $3.14 in taxes per $200,000 of their assessed property value, or the cost of a large coffee and a donut. This proposed increase is applicable to commercial properties as well.

The document also outlined a decrease in the mill rate as it will drop to 22.153 mills in 2018, down by 0.764 from 2017. The mill rate is a figure representing the amount per $1,000 of the assessed value of the property, which is used to calculate the amount of property tax. A tax calculator will be placed on the Town of Neepawa website to assist people with figuring out their exact tax rate.

As for where the money collected will be allocated, the general operating fund will be an estimated $8,557,713.17, while the utility operating fund will sit at $4,929,473.36. The operating fund is up slightly from last year ($155,237.48 compared to 2017), while utility will be much lower (Just over $7.8 million less than 2017). The majority of last year’s utility funding came from the Town’s reserve fund, which has been accumulating for several years. For this year, only 51.6 per cent of utilities will be covered via transfers in from reserves.

For the major capital purchases for 2018 from the general operating fund, those expenditures come out to $2,834,000. The listing of funded projects is as follows:

Fire Department: Fire Hall: $2 million (Funded by reserve), Turnout gear - Four suits: $8,000 (Reserve), Radios - communication: $2,000 (Funded by taxes)

Office Capital Purchases: Exterior of office: $60,000 (Taxes), Furniture: $1,000 (Taxes)

Pool Facility: Family bathroom: $35,000 (Funded by grant/taxes), Recreation feasibility study: $30,000 (Grant), Parks washroom upgrade: $10,000 (Grant/taxes), Lifeguard chair: $5,000 (Taxes)

Public Works: Road construction: $250,000 (Reserve), Truck & loader: $191,500 (Taxes), Parks shed & salt storage: $80,000 (Taxes), Shop ventilation system: $67,000 (Taxes), Lawnmower & tractor: $44,500 (Taxes), Columbarium concrete: $35,000 (Taxes)

The capital expenditures through the utility operating fund amount to $3,570,000. The list of those projects is as follows:

Lagoon upgrade phase one: $2.25 million, North end waterline ext: $1 million, WTP ventilation/roof repair: $170,000, Phase two EVL property: $100,000

As part of the budget allocations, $109,995.95 has also been set aside for grants to organizations, that’s up $500 from 2017. Notable grants included $85,000 towards the Yellowhead Centre, $6,500 for ArtsForward and $4,500 to NACTV. Other organizations of note receiving support include Neepawa Minor Ball, Home Assistance Neepawa and District (HAND), Neepawa in Bloom, Citizens on Patrol, Beautiful Plains (BP) Horticultural Society, BP Doctor Recruitment and BP Archives.

Neepawa mayor Adrian de Groot said that citizens should be pleased with both the short-term numbers and long-term planning that are a part of this financial document.

“While the financial plan does recognize the current year’s expenditures and revenue streams, it also continues to set the stage for future growth, as well as tangible projects that span several years,” stated de Groot.

The first reading of the 2018 budget was given and approved on Tuesday, Apr. 17. Second and third reading will likely occur at the next council meeting, on Tuesday, May. 3.