Kincardine council has agreed on a draft operating budget for 2024.
Council was hesitant to add more things to this year’s budget and therefore increase taxes.
Council had to have a capital amendment to add funding for the Goderich Street Generator that needed to be replaced, which added $45,000 in expenses to the municipality.
The generator needed replacement, as it was at the end of its life span and could no longer be serviced. Replacement parts are no longer available for the existing generator because they are no longer made.
During Monday’s meeting, it was also decided to re-add a seasonal by-law officer position which was cut from last year’s budget.
Staff has been directed to draft a taxation by-law amendment to finalize this year’s capital and operating budget.
With a few additions and several deletions from the draft budget, the tax rate will increase by 6.86% for this year, with a projected blended tax rate that also includes education and county taxes to 5.87%.
With the new increase, the average financial impact to the taxpayer would work out to around $145 per year.
Council decided against adding additional funding to the lifecycle reserve fund, as it would have increased taxes even further.
The lifecycle reserve fund would help to prevent a future shortfall, which is projected to be $33 million by 2028.
The reason council decided against it was to prevent taxes from ballooning past an 8% increase this year, as they worked to trim the budget down because of tighter financial constraints.