Town council approved Canora鈥檚 2021 budget on May 18.
As always, the budget is revenue neutral, showing $6,813,691 in both revenue and expenses, said Michael Mykytyshyn, chief administrative officer, Town of Canora.
鈥淒rafting the budget was perhaps more of a challenge for council this year, given the many variables affecting both the revenue and expense sides of the ledger,鈥� said Mykytyshyn. 鈥淎n assessment revaluation year, the ongoing effects of COVID restrictions, changes to provincial school tax percentages and rates, and more stringent environmental regulations translated into unavoidable shifts in property taxes and spending on mandatory projects.鈥�
This year, the province changed the commercial taxable percentage from 100 per cent to 85 per cent of assessment. School rates then increased to 4.46 for residential, 6.75 for commercial and dropped to 1.36 for agricultural properties.
As a result of these dynamics, Mykytyshyn reported it was difficult to choose a tax policy that made for consistent changes across all property classes and levels of assessment.
鈥淭o best accomplish this, council opted to implement a new property tax policy for 2021,鈥� he said. 鈥淐anora will be switching from a minimum property tax to a base tax method. Under a minimum tax, all properties below a certain assessment threshold pay a fixed amount; properties above the threshold pay based on assessment. Last year鈥檚 minimum tax rates were $1,260 for property with a building and $1,000 for a vacant lot. The mill rate was 14.05 with factors of .85 for residential and 1.5 for agricultural and commercial.
鈥淭he new base tax has two components. All properties are assessed a base tax amount plus an amount based on the mill rate and their assessment. The principle is that all properties receive the same basic services that are covered by the base tax. The remainder is based on the taxable assessed value of the property.鈥�
A base tax reduces the difference in taxes between lower and higher assessed properties. Some of the highly assessed residential properties may notice a reduction in taxes when compared to last year. This year鈥檚 rates are an $1,100 base tax for all properties plus a mill rate of 6.48.
Mill rate factors were adjusted to .67 for agricultural, .87 for residential and 2.3 for commercial classifications. This adjustment maintains the percentage ratio of revenue from each category when compared to last year. About three per cent of tax revenue is derived from agricultural properties, 80 per cent from residential and 17 per cent from commercial.
鈥淭he new rates result in an overall increase in tax revenue of about 6 per cent,鈥� detailed Mykytyshyn. 鈥淎lthough, with assessment revaluations, some properties may experience a varying increase or see no change or even a decrease instead. This is only Canora鈥檚 second tax increase in the past four years.鈥�
Total tax revenue in the 2021 budget is $1,973,425, up about $119,000 from last year. Property taxes make up about 28 per cent of this year鈥檚 revenue. This means that property taxes cover only about 28 per cent of the Town鈥檚 total expenses for this year.
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Other budget items of note include a slight reduction in the provincial revenue sharing grant from $460,248 to $456,110.
Easily the biggest expense category this year is capital projects at 40 per cent of the budget or about $3.1 million. This is significantly higher than usual and includes the new swimming pool project at $826,000, curb replacement of about $700,000, new transfer station, $850,000, and water treatment plant effluent upgrades of $309,000.
The Ministry of Highways will be paving Norway Road this year as part of a larger highway project and the Town of Canora will replace most of the curb adjacent to Norway Road in conjunction with the Ministry鈥檚 project.
鈥淢any of the Town鈥檚 facilities were built in the 1980s or earlier and are coming due for replacement,鈥� explained Mykytyshyn. 鈥淣ext year, council鈥檚 budget won鈥檛 see much relief in the spending category with work on the new swimming pool concluding and work to decommission the landfill beginning.
鈥淥ver the past few years, the Town鈥檚 costs keep increasing and not necessarily because of council decisions. New environmental regulations are requiring upgrades to water systems and the closure of the landfill. These are not optional projects, they are required under federal and provincial legislation. The Town has accessed grant funding for the landfill, but this type of funding is usually on a cost-sharing basis and does not cover the entire project expense.鈥�
With these upgrades, come increased operating costs. For example, it is now a requirement to complete groundwater monitoring and testing at the landfill which costs about $20,000 per year. This testing must continue even after the landfill is closed.
鈥淥ther projects this year will include additional enhancements at the sports grounds and new street signs and banners. The Town has also partnered with surrounding rural municipalities to purchase a new $600,000 fire truck that should be arriving any day now,鈥� concluded Mykytyshyn.
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