Proposed Nipawin budget won’t cut services, requires 4 per cent tax levy increase

Nipawin’s proposed budget will see equipment purchases, upgrades to the arena and Evergreen, a new finance staffer, paperless council meetings and no reduction to services.

To pay for it, the total tax levy will go up four per cent. Last year’s budget raised $4.4 million in taxes. The town will also tap into its reserves.

“I think that’s reasonable given all of the things that we’ve increased that I think in the long run will decrease the need for other things,” said Rennie Harper, Nipawin’s mayor, after a special meeting Jan. 19.

“This is a year of a couple of unknowns that council’s well aware of. The transition out of the landfill is certainly something that’s been front and centre. It has a very large bearing on the anticipated expenditures in solid waste,” said Barry Elliott, the town’s administrator. “The strategic plan is going to be driving this budget. It’s going to be driving the work that we’re doing and it’s going to be doing that over multiple years.”

The administrator added the town is also still absorbing provincial cutbacks.

Featured in the budget is $60,000 for a new finance staffer and $40,000 in budget software to make financial reporting faster. Some of the larger capital expenditures include a $190,000 streetsweeper, $186,000 for arena board replacements, a $170,000 payloader and $70,000 in pool perimeter lighting.

The budget is expected to be officially presented at the first council meeting in February. The mayor said they were ahead of the game this year, being at this point in last year’s budget discussion in March.

“It’s early enough that we can start looking toward getting some of this year’s projects underway a little earlier and probably have more timely completion on some of them,” Elliott said.

What hasn’t been determined by the budget meeting – and won’t be when it officially goes to council – is how council will distribute the four per cent increase. Last year, council committed to lowering the flat base tax and increasing the mill rates, which is proportional to a property’s value. Some business owners are concerned that’s resulting in commercial properties paying a high proportion of the town’s taxes than is fair.

Elliott said council will have the time to reflect on what happened last year and determine if it wants to continue its path. Harper said it’s something council will examine seriously.

“The fact of the matter is: if we have to go back to this, we will do that,” she said. “We’re very clear: we don’t want to overburden anybody.”

Capital Expenditures