Modest increase for Central Frontenac budget of 2.3 per cent

Barring any major changes of heart, Central Frontenac is looking at a modest budget increase of 2.3 per cent from a tax rate increase of 1.3 per cent following online budget deliberations Friday. Budget meetings were scheduled to wrap up Tuesday (after the newspaper’s deadline) but the three big departments (public works, fire and facilities) already discussed.

This means that the average taxpayer will see their property taxes increase by $16 for every $100,000 of assessment on their property.

“There could be potential changes but I don’t have anything concrete,” Treasurer Mike McGovern said Monday. “We took Westport Road and Zealand Road out of the budget but they may want to put one of them back or do something with our bank loan (borrowing $3.4 million to offset this budget with a 10-year payback).”

But that would seem unlikely given CAO/Clerk Cathy MacMunn’s opening statements Friday.

“There were a number of capital projects, about $6 million that we cut,” she said. “So, unless we get grants, a lot of roads are not going to get done.

“I think everybody (including North, South and Frontenac Islands) is cutting their budgets.”

It’s also a combination of declining revenues and increasing costs due to covid-19.

For example, they’re only budgeting revenue of $3,000 for hall rentals instead of the $15,000 they would have expected in a normal year and the fire department has had to increase its stockpile of medical supplies for firefighters responding to medical calls.

However, Public Works Manager Tyson Myers said he thinks that Westport Road can live with “one more year of expensive hot and cold mix patches” with major work being rescheduled for 2022.

CBO Andy Dillon said he expects revenue from building permits to be down due to the rising costs of lumber.

“And I don’t think we’ll have a swim program this summer,” said MacMunn.

In total, if the budget numbers stand, Central Frontenac ratepayers will pay is $9,148,758 to the township in 2021, $252,234 more than they did in 2020