Three Rivers approves tax hike for 2024-25 budget
Taxes in Three Rivers are set to increase for the 2024-25 budget year.
The council approved the tax increases during a council meeting on March 18. There is a recreational tax increase of $0.02 per $100 of assessment which will be used to support recreational and cultural activities.
There is also a tax increase for residents of Montague and Georgetown.
Montague residents will see an additional $0.06 per $100 of assessment increase on their municipal tax. Georgetown residents will see an additional $0.03 per $100 of assessment increase to their municipal tax rate.
In addition, all residents of the former unincorporated communities will see an increase of $0.01 per $100 of assessment increase in their municipal tax.
“This was laid out in the memorandum of settlement that was agreed upon by all communities when the town was created through amalgamation,” said John Jamieson, CAO for the Town of Three Rivers.
DOUBLE TAXATION
Non-residents who pay municipal taxes will continue to face double taxation and will see double the increase depending on the community they reside in. However, there is one significant change for non-residents who have been paying double fire dues.
“The council made a change this year to reduce that, so that non-residents pay the same fire dues as everyone else, and they're not doubled anymore,” he said.
Jamieson said this year’s budget is similar to the previous budgets, except expenses have been increased by five per cent to cover the anticipated increases due to inflation. However, there has been a slight increase in revenue to help offset these increases.
There has been a surplus of around $450,000 from the previous year. This surplus will be carried forward. The surplus was mainly due to staff vacancies, including the absence of a chief administrative officer, maintenance personnel, utilities personnel and a recreation director.
According to the budget, $958,633 will go into protective services such as fire protection, RCMP and emergency measures.
The town will also be working to fast-track the construction of 116 homes within three years using federal funding announced this year, which is expected to lead to the development of over 400 homes in the next decade.
There is also an ongoing project in Georgetown funding a generator and electrical upgrades to make sure that area has a reception centre in the case of an emergency like post-tropical storm Fiona.