The Battlefords Chamber of Commerce is reacting positively to the changes made Monday to the 2016 budget in North Battleford.
Council adopted the budget at their meeting Monday, but pared a proposed property tax increase down from four per cent to 2.5 per cent, and also rolled back the proposed UPAR surface tax increase down from $1.93 per foot frontage to a 60-cent increase.
A number of Battlefords Chamber of Commerce members were in attendance to watch the proceedings.
Before the meeting, Battlefords Chamber president Brendon Boothman penned a letter to the City.
His correspondence expressed the Chamber’s concerns about the size of the tax increases, the continued high level of expenditures and continued growth of municipal employees. There was also unease expressed about some of the community grants funding and skepticism about savings from the City’s recent takeover of waste management operations, which had previously been contracted out.
There was disappointment expressed by Chamber members at their Tuesday monthly directors meeting that their concerns hadn’t been discussed in more detail. Still, Boothman believes the Chamber’s presence at the meeting was felt and the concerns heard.
“I guess you could call it a bit of a win for us,” said Boothman, as “there were some reductions that had taken place.”
