Draft_budget

Jeff Green | May 04, 2006

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Draft budget calls for increased spendingin Central Frontenac

by Jeff Green

Central Frontenac Council has spent many hours pouring over their 2006 budget over the past two weeks. The draft budget which they have been considering calls for an increase of $615,024 (16.56%) in the levy to taxpayers over last year.

Two major areas of increase include the fire department ($400,000) and waste management ($200,000).

Because of a relatively large increase in property assessment this year (16.25%), this increased taxation can be achieved while the township decreases the township tax rate by a little less than 1%. Coupled with decreases of 14.7% in the county tax rate and 10.8% in the education rate, if the draft budget were approved as is, the overall tax rate charged to ratepayers in Central Frontenac would decrease by 5.8%.

The burden of paying for the increased township spending would thus fall on those who received notice of large property assessment increases, some of which were in the range of 40%, when the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation completed property assessments last year.

According to one estimate, if the 2006 draft budget is approved without any changes, the average household in the township will pay almost 10% more in municipal taxes.

Council made several relatively minor changes to the budget during their two days of work, and they will meet again on Monday, May 8th at a regular Council meeting in Mountain Grove to consider amended budget numbers as presented by Treasurer Judy Gray. If there are any major budgetary adjustments to be made they will likely occur at that meeting.

Last year, in order to offset a 10% increase in the levy from the County of Frontenac , Central Frontenac decreased their own levy to taxpayers by 6% as compared to the previous year.