South Bruce Council has passed the municipality’s 2009 budget.
The mayor believes it is a fair budget that balances spending needs with keeping tax increases at a minimum.
Mayor Bill Goetz says council came up with a two percent increase in the amount of money the municipality will be spending this year.
He says with the economy the way it is, council didn’t want to increase the burden on taxpayers too much but if this year’s increase had been lower, next year’s increase would have been even higher.
Goetz says the balance means good news both ways for ratepayers and the municipality’s project plans.
The average property in South Bruce is assessed at 156 thousand dollars.
The owner of a property of that value will be paying just under 20 dollars more on their tax bill this year.
Without the county and education budgets figured in, the amount would have been 14 dollars.
The municipality will be raising over two million dollars in tax revenue, and other fees are also changing.
Properties connected to the Mildmay sewer system will be paying 50 dollars more, and garbage bag tags are going from $1.50 to $2.00.
54 percent of the budget is going towards road and bridge projects, including street paving and reconstruction work in Mildmay, and bridge work in Culross and Carrick.
Goetz says council and staff managed to fit most of what they hope to accomplish into the budget, and extra infrastructure grants from the federal and provincial level are also welcomed.