By Greg Higgins

Utility rates to increase; property taxes to be decided

Dec 12, 2017 | 1:00 PM

North Battleford residents will see their utilities increase by 4.5 per cent, but property tax increases have yet to be decided. 

City administration proposed either a 4.23 per cent increase or a 4.5 increase in utility rates to council. Mayor Ryan Bater said council decided on the latter because utilities are in a position to “pay for themselves.”

“The utilities the city operates is not a line of business that is paid for through taxation. It is paid for through customers. We wanted the utility rates to accurately reflect the cost of utilities, so that’s the rational,” he said.

Council felt more time and research was needed before officially giving the 2018 budget its stamp of approval. According to Bater, council requested more information from administration, specifically on third party grants and other revenue streams.

“We did this last year,” Bater said, of revisiting the issue in January. “This isn’t out of the ordinary. The city budget is a big project. It is one of the most important things the city does; if not the most important thing. We want to make sure we take our time… and make sure the budget is reflective of the direction council wants to go.”

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Bater said many organizations in the city have asked for grants and council needs to assess them all. The mayor added one of the biggest requests was from the Humane Society which needs a new building. 

“When they all add up they end up being a big number. These are organizations that do great work in the Battlefords and they’ve come to the city for assistance or increase in funding and we have to evaluate them all individually and it’s a lot of work to do that,” he said, adding the amount of grants approved will affect property tax increases. 

Bater said he is hopeful the budget will be completely approved at the next council meeting Jan. 8, but added the provincial budget could still throw a wrench into the city’s plans.

“We are cognisant of the fact we might have to do that again. There were a lot of comments last night about not looking at this budget as [set in stone] because we are dependent on provincial resources,” he said.

While council approved last night to maintain 2017 funding levels for Underground Pipes and Asphalt (UPAR), cuts to things like leisure services could still be on the table. Bater added if the province cuts municipal funding again, it will be very difficult to reduce spending within the city. He added, however, the city might be more prepared than they were this time last year.

“I would not say that we’ve weathered the storm. We are still weathering the storm. Our raincoats are on and we’re ready.”

greg.higgins@jpbg.ca

On Twitter @realgreghiggins