Wolfville to hold line on tax rates
With staff sharpening its pencils and council making some difficult decisions, the Town of Wolfville will hold the line on its tax rates.
Wolfville Mayor Wendy Donovan said that while it’s usually the wish of council to maintain residential and commercial tax rates whenever possible, it was particularly important this year. They recognize that many have been through a difficult time financially due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although not all businesses have been negatively impacted, Donovan said it’s certainly the case that some have seen downturns in revenue, as have the landlords of buildings that these businesses occupy.
“We felt that we had to contribute whatever we could to help those folks through the next year,” Donovan said.
This is her ninth year on council. Donovan recalls that the budget process in 2016 was particularly difficult and all indications were that this year would be worse.
“The fact that we were able to come in with a balanced budget is really a credit to the council and staff,” she said.
Council recently approved an operating budget for the 2021-2022 fiscal year totalling $11.2 million and a capital investment plan of $4.6 million.
The town’s finance director, Mike MacLean, said the budget achieves council’s direction to ensure tax increases stay within the cost of living adjustment.
He said that, through the office of the chief administrative officer, senior management has clear direction from council on key initiatives for the coming year. The budget document also ensures the financial flexibility to address emerging issues and the evolving impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Donovan said there were several challenges they faced in keeping tax rates stable.
For example, with inflation and the cost of living increase being relatively flat, assessed 2021-2022 Wolfville budget highlights:
• The low-income tax exemption will be increased to $750 for those households not exceeding an income threshold of $30,000.
• $100,000 in funding will be provided by way of an area rate levy for the Wolfville Business Development Corporation (WBDC).
• The sewer rate will be increased by 17 per cent to cover operational costs.
property values have not increased as dramatically as in past years.
This means that the town will essentially have the same amount of property tax revenue to work with as it did the year before.
“For all intents and purposes, not only was our tax rate kept the same, but the revenues that we would get from that tax rate have stayed pretty much flat compared to a year when say the cost of living has gone up and the value of a residential property has gone up,” Donovan said.
With a new incarnation of council being elected in October, this was the first budget deliberation process for three of its members. Donovan said the process can get somewhat
• Major street infrastructure projects, including work on Highland Avenue, will be carried out over the next two years.
• Town crosswalks will be upgraded.
• Pickleball courts will be built at the town’s recreation centre for all to use. • Decorative lighting will be added on Willow and Gaspereau avenues.
• A new visitor information centre will be built to promote tourism in Wolfville.
emotional on a personal level in a small town where everyone knows everyone, and you know people are dealing with financial constraints.
“You feel a responsibility to making life as easy as you can for them,” the mayor said.
Having the advantage of just coming off an election and having heard directly from constituents during the campaign, Donovan said council has set goals that they would like to accomplish over the coming term.
She said they’ve identified four areas where they would like to make major strides, including partnering with neighbouring municipalities on a feasibility study for a regional recreation facility.
Donovan said this is being driven in part by Acadia University giving notice that, because of its own financial constraints, it wouldn’t be able to continue operating its aquatic centre without municipal support. She said the pool facility is important to the region and they want to help keep it going in the interim.
In terms of upgrades to the town’s aging infrastructure, Donovan said the bar has been raised significantly over the past two council terms.
Council wants to continue focusing on bringing municipal infrastructure up to the appropriate specs. They are committed to increasing the amount of money they put into capital reserves next year in support of future investments.
Regarding economic development, Donovan said it’s a different world now. Perhaps one silver lining to the pandemic is that new opportunities — or ones that they may not have thought about a year ago — are now presenting themselves.
The town will also continue focusing on climate management in partnership with other Annapolis Valley municipalities and the provincial government.
“There are many other things in the budget but those are things that council has highlighted as wanting to be leaders on,” Donovan said.