West 麻豆精选 council has cut the proposed property tax hike for 2024 from 11.4 to 6.85 per cent.
This followed two days of budget deliberations (Dec. 12-13), with council and staff going through the document line by line.
鈥淲e knew we had some difficult decisions here at the table as we鈥檙e balancing the needs for our corporation and the ability of our residents to be able to pay,鈥� Mayor Gord Milsom said. 鈥淚 think this has been a good analysis and discussion.鈥�
The reduction comes, in part, at the cost of not contributing funds to infrastructure and capital reserves, which would have added one per cent to the hike, as well as a reduction in requested full-time staff positions.
鈥淣ot increasing (capital reserves) I think we can make it through on that,鈥� said chief financial officer Warren Everton.
He added other reserves will hold up well with changes made to the capital budget.
Deferred projects will also help the infrastructure levy stay even for the year.
Public input on the provisional budget will take place in the new year, with dates yet to be determined.
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