C.B.S., Mount Pearl and Paradise reveal 2018 budgets
Financial plans are ‘status quo’ ahead of 2019 anxiety
Three “status quo” budgets hit council tables in Mount Pearl, Conception Bay South and Paradise Tuesday evening as municipalities await a potentially difficult year in 2019.
None of the three major municipalities increased the mill rate for residents or commercial users in their 2018 budgets, and each saw relatively minor increases in spending in the next fiscal year.
For C.B.S. Mayor Terry French, holding his town’s budget steady was the best choice heading into what could be a difficult fiscal year.
“The 2019 tax year could be significant. Just last week I was reading an article about how the average house is selling for about 10 per cent less today than it was in 2014, when the last assessment was done,” said French.
“Whether or not you can prejudge municipal assessments, that’ll give you some idea, I think. We’ll have to roll with the punches, whatever the assessments come in.”
French says C.B.S. will also see increased spending on sidewalks in the town, starting with the 1.6-kilometre zone surrounding schools.
The town will spend $1 million on streets and sidewalks, $550,000 of which will go to sidewalks.
C.B.S. is also introducing its automated waste collection program starting near the end of 2018, to be fully phased in over the next four years.
Mount Pearl also delivered a budget that keeps taxation rates the same.
Coun. Andrew Ledwell delivered the $58.2-million budget, which keeps spending roughly the same as in 2017. The mill rate for residents will remain even at 7.0, with the commercial mill rate steady at 12.0.
The city plans to spend $12.2 million on infrastructure improvements in 2018, for upgrades on Fourth Street, Glendale Avenue, Commonwealth Avenue, Blackmarsh Road, Topsail Road, Second Street, Bradley Place, St. David’s Avenue, Sunrise Avenue, Dunn’s Road, and Roland Drive. In Paradise, Coun. Paul Dinn, finance committee chair, delivered a budget that keeps mill rates steady, but has a 2.4 per cent decrease in the town’s operating budget. The debt servicing ratio also dropped from 9.6 per cent in 2015 to 6.7 per cent for 2018. One major point of spending for Paradise will be $1.5 million on a new roundabout at the intersection of Topsail Road and Mcnamara Drive. In a news release, Mayor Dan Bobbett stated the town has a constant review process, looking for savings. “Council believes in continually reviewing our operations and programs. It’s not just an exercise done at budget time,” Bobbett stated. French