Town of Neepawa presents budget

Details

Published on Wednesday, April 23, 2014

By: Kate Jackman-Atkinson

myWestman.ca

Earlier this month, the Town of Neepawa presented its 2014 financial plan to the public. The budget included little in the way of major projects or contentious issues, which was reflected in the low attendance. Just four residents came out to listen to the presentation made by director of finance Jamie Davie.

The total budget for 2014 will be $6,252,014. Since 2013 was a year of reassessment, the town’s mill rate has decreased for 2014 while the total amount collected from taxes is projected to increase. The town is planning on collecting an additional $80,706 in 2014, 2.16 per cent more than the previous year. The actual tax increase is about 0.56 per cent, with the remaining 1.6 per cent coming from additions to the tax roll.

The total municipal assessment increased by 19 per cent or $23,512,810. Of this, only 1.6 per cent is new growth, the rest of the increase comes from the reassessment of existing properties.

Because of the increase in assessment, the 2014 municipal mill rate will be 20.32, a decrease of 4.10 mills from 2013.

Because of reassessment, not all property owners will experience the same changes to their taxes. The town has provided a tax calculator on their website to help residents calculate the changes to their individual tax rates.

In addition to property taxes, the town will also collect an additional $427,337 from other revenue and transfers. Most of this increase comes from transfers from reserves to fund larger projects budgeted for 2014.

Debentures a major expenditure

When it comes to expenditures, the Town has four major debentures. These debentures are for the personal care home community contribution, the industrial waste water treatment plant contribution, the raw water contribution and for water and sewer.  The first of these to be paid off will be the water and sewer debenture which will be paid off in 2015. Combined, payments on these debentures will amount to $584,105 in 2014, representing about 10 per cent of the town’s budgeted tax revenue.

On the expense side, the largest expense is fiscal services, costing $1.57 million and accounting for 25 per cent of expenditures.  This includes debenture payments, bank fees and interest. 

Capital expenses also fall under the fiscal services category. The Town is planning on spending $932,942 on capital expenditures this year. The two biggest items will be the purchase of a new fire truck, budgeted to costs of $385,000, and road construction, budgeted to cost $390,000. The fire truck purchase will be made using funds from reserves. Other larger expenditures include the purchase of a new, replacement truck for the public works department, budgeted at $40,000 and a planned expenditure of $50,000 for design work on the former CN property.

The second largest expense is transportation services, costing $973,230.  This item includes the public works department and snow clearing. This department is planning to spend $138,430 more in 2014 compared to last year. The increase is due to the addition of a new public works employee, as well as larger increases in fuel costs, ditches and road drainage.  There will also be smaller increases to repairs and maintenance as well as workshop and yard operations.

The third largest expense is general government services, costing $943,000 per year.  This expense covers the staffing and operation of the municipal office and will cost an additional $51,791 in 2014. While the town is budgeting to spend less on office expenses and legal expenses in 2014, they are planning to spend more money on legislative expenses and the chief administrative office and staff.  There will also be an additional $13,000 budgeted this year for municipal elections.

The town’s utilities have an operating budget of $2.2 million. The cost of water treatment and purification will be $52,500 less this year, to reflect the actual cost.  However, the town will be spending an additional $16,600 in hydro costs associated with the new water supply.

The town has six capital projects planned for utilities this year.  The largest is a project on Ellen Street budgeted to cost $285,000. Engineering supervisor Denis Saquet explains that this project will involve 340 meters of new water line and either the relining or rehabilitation of the sewer line from Brown Avenue down the hill to Tupper Avenue.

The second is the possible development of a new well, projected to cost $250,000. Saquet explains that project would be for a new well at the Hummerston site.  There are already two wells at that site, one of which was in place before the construction of the new well to service the Town began.  He explained that the old well was planned to be phased out and depending on the Water Services Board, it would either be decommissioned or kept as a backup.  He added that that town can access funding from senior levels of government to cover half of the cost for this project.

The town’s budget includes a $10,000 grant to the Neepawa Natives, as part of the $75,000 they provide to the Yellowhead Centre.  This grant helps offset $24,000 in ice fees the club pays to use the facility. Neepawa Natives president Dave McIntosh took to the podium following the presentation to show appreciation and thank the Town for their support of the team over the past years.  He also asked that the town consider increasing their grant to cover more of the ice fees.

New Neepawa resident Adrian De Groot suggested that council consider holding a pre-budget meeting to allow residents to provide input on the proposed budget. This year’s timeline leaves very little time for the town to amend the budget following the public meetings. De Groot also pointed out that Neepawa has a very high mill rate and tax burden when compared to other municipalities.

Later in the question period, Davie explained one of the major reasons why Neepawa’s taxes are higher than those in other municipalities. “We have all of the expenses of a big city,” she explained, continuing that the town doesn’t have the population base of a big city to spread these costs over.  She pointed in particular to the town’s four debentures, a cost that many other towns don’t have.

Councillor Robyn Copeland urged some caution in comparing mill rates between municipalities.  He noted that some municipalities deal with expenses by setting a base mill rate and adding special levies to cover costs such as water, sewer and garbage collection. “The bottom line may not be that different,” he cautioned.

Copies of the financial plan are available from the Town of Neepawa office.