The 2012 Operations and Utility Budget, and its 3.9 per cent tax increase, are moving forward to council for approval in the New Year.
Deliberations wrapped up Monday night of a budget presented at last week's council meeting by Director of Finance Byron Tumbach, with no changes.
The budget process went smoothly over the three nights, although there was some grousing by Councillor Brad Pattinson at last Tuesday night's session that deliberations did not provide enough of an opportunity to question or make changes to the budget that was presented by administration.
Pattinson ended up being a no-show for Wednesday's deliberation session and was also absent at Monday's meeting.
For his part, Hamilton was pleased with the process.
"We would like to think we were very proactive in the process this year," said Hamilton, noting the adoption of the city's strategic plan articulated council's expectations for the budget process this year.
Hamilton said it was the "development and adoption of the strategic plan that guided administrations' in our expectation of what we wanted to see come out of the 2012 operating and capital budget."
That was one reason the budget process moved so quickly this year, as was the province's commitment to a set amount in revenue sharing that was known in advance.
While there are no cuts coming to city facilities, there was talk at the deliberations about the future of two of them - chief among them, the Kinsmen Aquatic Centre.
That facility is due to end operations when the Co-op Aquatic Centre opens in 2012.
Public Works Director Stewart Schafer confirmed Wednesday the Kinsmen Aquatic Centre will remain in operation right until the day the new facility opens its doors. As for ideas about future uses of the old facility, a report is due in early 2012 and Mayor Ian Hamilton is urging patience until that time.
There was also some talk about the future of the Agriplex on the Battlefords Ag Society grounds, particularly on whether the city should let someone else take over its operations
Councillor Don Buglas suggested investigating if community user groups - the figure skaters or minor hockey, for instance - might be interested in taking over the facility from the City..
Buglas also floated the idea last Wednesday of moving council meetings out of city hall to the theatre component of the CUPlex. Buglas noted the theatre at the CUPlex will be wheelchair accessible and therefore have full public access.
There was also discussion about the water infrastructure Wednesday night, which allowed Counillor Grace Lang to vent about the discolouration of the water and the complaints about it in recent weeks.
"People really dislike it," said Lang. "We take water for granted."
Public Works Director Stewart Schafer said it was sediment in the distribution lines that was causing the discolouration. Some potential remedies were discussed, with water flushing of the lines due in the spring to help clear sediments that occurred in 2011.
The last night of deliberations Monday was brief, lasting about an hour, as councillors reviewed the city's reserves, grants and taxation. Based on preliminary information from the province, the city anticipates a 9.2 per cent increase in the municipal operating grant, with the city estimating it to be $2,695057 based on the previous model.
The next steps is to formally adopt the budget and bring in the mill rate bylaws, with Mayor Ian Hamilton anticipating that will happen at a council meeting early in the New Year.
Tumbach said the budget was designed to maintain the current level of services and to position North Battleford as a "have" city.
It is also designed to help meet the challenges of adding five new North Battleford police officers, as well as the upgrading of road infrastructure and street lighting, and initial operation for the Credit Union CUPlex.
Councillors at the final budget deliberation session referred to the focus on service delivery, with councillors Don Buglas and Ron Crush acknowledging the public's desire to maintain services. Buglas pointed to maintaining the walking paths as one example.
Those sentiments were shared by Hamilton.
"Certainly what we hear from the people is 'we don't want to pay any more taxes but we also don't want to forego any of the service that we've become accustomed to and become dependent upon,'" Hamilton noted in speaking to reporters.
The taxation mill rate rises to 18.758 from 18.177 to meet all the services required, with the increase varying depending on class. For residential and condominiums, the mill rate will go up 3.1 per cent to 10.487. For vacant residential land it is up 13.5 per cent to 79.260; for agricultural, it is 4.3 per cent to 59.495; for multi-family, up 4.4 per cent to 30.526; and for elevators, pipelines and other commercial, up three per cent to 33.972.
The protective services base tax will rise from $559 to $593. This is assessed to single family and condo properties only, with a one-third portion placed on vacant residential.
In terms of dollar amounts, based on a market value of $100,000, residential and condo units can expect to see increases of $56, multifamily four-plex $90 and commercial $100.
Expect a 3.9 per cent increase is utility rates combining water, sanitary sewer and sanitation. Customers using 25 cubic metres can expect residential water charges of $26.74, a residential water base of $17.17, a residential sewer rate of $21.97, a residential sewer base of $21.44, and a waste management fee of $9 for a total of $96.33, up from $92.71 in 2011.
The city is also increasing tipping fees at the land fill by 50 per cent.
No change is coming to the Residential Culture Capital Facilities levy to the residential portion, which remains at $175 per living unit. The commercial/industrial RCCF mill rate which will change slightly from 3.858 to 3.854.
The city will not be addressing any changes to tax policy that will affect the 2012 budget, with the split remaining 62 per cent residential and 38 per cent commercial.
