Council approved the 2021 tax-supported budget showing a zero per cent increase in its 2021 municipal property tax requisition.
The 2021 tax supported budget reflects a municipal requisition of just over $9 million. Council notes this is a unique budget because of the impacts of COVID-19.
“The pandemic effectively changed our organization and operations for much of 2020 and now into 2021 and comparisons of the 2021 to 2020 budgets cannot be done in isolation,” said CAO Darryl Drohomerski. “For example, our recreation facilities were closed to the public for 37 of the 52 weeks in 2020 and are only recently reopening this year. Revenue and expenses in these areas experienced a significant impact in both 2020 and in 2021.”
On the revenue side, the budget shows $5,688,195, requisition of residential taxes, and $2,465,940, from commercial revenues, the same as budgeted in 2020. Franchise fees, collected on electrical and gas bills are expected to bring in $1,863,545. There was a slight decrease in linear taxes.
Some of the most notable changes in the budget include funds for a full-time events coordinator, programs and events, the start of a pilot project in support of poverty reduction, and completion of various information technology projects started in 2020.
There have been decreases in amortization to match past allocations and salary adjustments to reflect vacancies in the organization. Several third-party grants for FCSS to support Covid-19 that were received in 2020 for use in 2020 and 2021.
According to a release, earlier this year council sought public participation for the operational budget using a tool called Ethelo, with 134 responses from Valley residents. The conclusion of this consultation indicated the majority of residents in this sample wanted to see the budget remain mostly the same, with a small decrease in certain service areas.
“The input from the community was an important part of our deliberation for this year’s budget,” said Mayor Heather Colberg. “It was also very important to us to weigh the impacts of COVID-19 on our community and local economy. We also have to consider the possibility of potential revenue shocks in coming months due to the pandemic. To keep the taxes maintained at current levels, we hope to ease anxieties of rate increases during these unprecedented times.”
While the 2021 requisition shows a zero per cent increase, that does not necessarily mean individual taxes will not change. The tax rate also considers property assessments when setting the mill rate.
Capital budget discussions for 2021 will begin on April 6, 2021 at the Regular Council Meeting.
