Huntsville councillors have tentatively approved a 2.24 per cent increase to the town’s tax rate to support the 2022 budget.
It is a slight decrease from the proposed tax rate increase of 2.87 per cent. With the new rate, a home assessed at $300,000 would pay an extra $33.00 in taxes instead of $41.00.
After nearly an hour and a half of presentation and discussion, General Committee voted seven to one on Wednesday to amend the proposed rate through two staff recommendations: reducing the annual contribution to the town website reserve from $45,000 to $35,000, and directing $100,000 of the annual dividends from the town’s holdings in Lakeland into the operating budget rather than the Working Funds Reserve.
Councillor Withey voted against the amendment, as he was in favour of a further 0.76 per cent reduction to the tax rate by reducing contributions to the Working Funds Reserve by another $133,750.
The draft 2022 budget is currently set at a total of $17,944,541, a 5.65 per cent increase from 2021’s $16,985,645.
$12,323,471 of that is earmarked for operating costs. Those funds cover day-to-day maintenance and service costs for things such as roads, the library, and town-run programs.
The capital budget, which covers purchasing new assets and replacing the old, is currently set at $5,621,070.
The Operations and Protective Services Department makes up the bulk of the budget, with $11,496,600 earmarked. The town’s roads and fleet alone account for $8,320,133.
Notable projects include $2,168,971 set aside for the Main Street Streetscape and Kent Park Redevelopment, $312,000 for pickleball courts at McCulley-Robertson Park, $300,000 for the Civic Centre’s front steps, and $260,000 for tennis courts at Clarke Crescent Park.
The budget still needs to be ratified by councillors at the January 24th Regular Council meeting.