After four days of deliberations, the Town of the Blue Mountains (TBM) is ready to present its 2021 draft budget to the public.
“We ended up with a 1.37 per cent tax rate increase,” said Ruth Prince, treasurer and director of finance and IT services for TBM during a council meeting held on Monday. “It's about an $865,616 levy increase with most of that, approximately $489,000, being mitigated by growth.”
A revised draft budget is expected to be released for the public on the TBM’s website on Thursday.
According to Prince, for a home valued at $620,000, the 1.37 per cent adjustment will translate to a $31 increase.
“This was a difficult and strange year in a lot of ways, and not the least of which is the financial side. Staff have worked very hard to keep the ship floating and heading in the right direction during the rough open seas that we've had,” said TBM councillor Rob Sampson.
“I think in the face of that, everyone buckled under and presented us with the budget that was very well considered,” he added.
A public meeting, in regards to the proposed 2021 draft budget, is expected to take place on Jan. 11.
“We're going to prepare a revised draft budget that will be coming back for public information and a public meeting, and then a committee of the whole meeting, and then final approval at council,” explained Mayor Alar Soever.
“There is still time to amend that budget that we have all voted for. And, we still have the opportunity to reconsider matters based on the input we receive from the public,” Soever added.
TBM council is slated to approve the 2021 budget at the first council meeting in February.
