There are times when necessity meets reality even when the challenges are the greatest.
That is what happened last week at Shire Hall, as four days of budget activity ended very far from where it began.
At the start of the week, they were looking at a potential 11% increase for taxpayers.
On Friday afternoon, they approved a budget with a 5.32% increase in the levy, which translates to a 3.59% increase when you account for the overall growth in municipal assessment, and an additional $37.74 in taxes for each $100,000 of assessment per home.
Now, no one is going to cheer a tax increase (especially in the current climate), but 3.6% is far more reasonable than 11%. That’s just simple math.
What’s not so simple is how you manage to get everything done with much less money, but that challenge is one that all municipalities must face these days (especially with an election coming in the fall).
I would like to congratulate Prince Edward County Council on listening to the outcry that followed the posting of the draft budget last month, because the initial 11% increase was reportedly very unpopular.
The challenge now shifts to Quinte West this week and Belleville early next year, with all municipal governments knowing very well that the true measure of success will come at the ballot box as much as on a balance sheet.
I’m Paul Martin and that’s what I see looking Beyond the Headlines.
