Photo By Claire McCormack
Northern Bruce Peninsula council has adopted its 2023 budget, with an overall levy increase of 7.68 per cent.
During a meeting on March 13, council received the final budget report from Treasurer Teresa Shearer.
The hike will cost an additional $28.30 per $100,000 assessment. A statement from the municipality the tax rate increase falls to 6.45% when the assessment change is factored in.
“We are considerably the lower tax rate per $100,000 assessment of any municipality in Bruce County, and I think that should be noted,” says Coun. Laurie Golden.
The municipality says in a release, the overall theme for the budget includes the modernization of services, sustainability, improvement to community assets, and investing into the future needs of the community.
“This year, I know it does seem somewhat high our levy, I hope people take into consideration the inflation that we were dealing with this year and that it is within reason I think,” says Mayor Milt McIver.
The budget includes a number of major projects, including an expansion of the Lion’s Head Arena and Community Centre, emergency management upgrades, fleet replacements, the repair and replacement of roads and sidewalks, as well as the development of long term plans for municipal water and waste water and a cellular service mapping project.
The municipality will be spending nearly $12 million in infrastructure renewal.
“As we look forward to 2023, Northern Bruce Peninsula has many exciting projects underway,” says McIver.” The Municipality is committed to providing its residents with excellent customer service along with investing in our long-term goals.”