Ratepayers in The Municipal District of Peace can expect an increase in their 2020 tax bills.
MD Council approved its budget with a mill rate increase of 0.75.
Chief Administrative Officer, Barb Johnson says this represents an increase of $75 per $100,000 of assessed property value.
Reeve Bob Willing tells the Trending 55 Newsroom that the MD was hit with some pretty tough decision that forced some cuts.
“We have to make cuts because of increased spending that is being dictated to us and lower income that is being dictated to us,” says Willing.
Willing was referring to Alberta’s Inter-municipal Collaboration Framework, which forces the MD into negotiations with bordering municipalities, and in some cases, the MD has to pick up a bigger portion of the tab.
Willing did tell the newsroom that no layoffs at the MD of Peace are planned at this point.
“We are a fairly small organization and we don’t have a lot of staff,” explains Willing. “Because of how we have managed our rotation of essential services, we don’t think we will have to lay anyone off at this time.”
The budget was finalized at the MD’s March 24 council meeting.
Willing also adds that he has not seen anything cripple the economy like this in his lifetime.
“It’s been a fairly dramatic drop,” says the reeve. “We have been drops in the economy before but not at the speed and intensity that this is happening at, that’s for sure.”
– Kenny Trenton, Trending 55 Newsroom
