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Muskoka residents likely to dig deeper as tax increases proposed on district budget

You’re likely to see another bump on your tax bill this year, at least on the district portion.

The District of Muskoka has released its draft tax supported operating budget, with a proposed increase of 1.45 per cent on residential taxes. Officials suggest for a $300,000 home this would increase the district portion of the tax bill by about $12.52. Breaking down that proposed increase, $6.35 would be put towards funding for infrastructure rehabilitation and repair projects and $1.53 would go towards the annual OPP costs.

As for the draft rate supported budget, which involves costs associated with waste collection, water and sewage, there are a few changes across the district. Water rates on a $300,000 assessed property are proposed to increase by 1.4 per cent or $2.60 a month.

Solid waste is a different story as coverage costs are changing across the district. Here’s a breakdown of the annual impact on the bill for a property assessed at $300,000:

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  • Bracebridge, decrease of $1.80 to $199.26
  • Gravenhurst, increase of $3.21 to $170.34
  • Huntsville, decrease of $0.75 to $187.50
  • Georgian Bay, increase of $9.48 to $174.15
  • Lake of Bays, decrease of $0.45 to $80.37
  • Muskoka Lakes, no change proposed, staying at $70.44

District officials explain the reason for the sudden cost spike in Georgian Bay is mostly because non-curbside services will need to be increased at a cost of $109,905.

Looking ahead to budget discussions, District of Muskoka committees will meeting to review their individual budgets the week of January 21st. Here is a breakdown of each committee meeting and time:

Wednesday, January 23rd:

  • Engineering and Public Works, 9:00am
  • Finance and Corporate Services, 1:00pm

Thursday, January 24th:

  • Health Services Committee, 9:00am
  • Community and Planning Services Committee, 1:00pm

Friday, January 25th:

  • Joint Commmittee Meeting of Engineering and Public Works and Finance and Corporate Services, 9:00am

A full review of the budget by council will run on January 30th, starting at 9:00am. Council is expected to make a final decision on this budget on February 19th during it’s 3:00pm meeting.

All committee and council meetings will be held in the council chambers at the District of Muskoka office in Bracebridge and are open to the public.

You can find a more detailed breakdown of the draft tax supported operating budget and capital forecast here and the draft rate supported operating budget here.

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