Saint John council has passed its $154-million operating budget for the upcoming year which includes an unchanged tax rate of $1.79, though the stamp of approval was not given unanimously.
Councillor Gary Sullivan was the one member of the council horseshoe to vote against the budget. He said that we should be looking for any way possible to reduce the tax rate and also raised concern over a budget amendment—a motion he also solely voted against—which puts Cherry Brook Zoo, the Human Development Council and PRUDE into the hands of the grants committee for consideration.
They had been separated from the community grants program after a decision from council on December 5, which meant there would be $59,721 in the community grants pot. However, with the amendment, this means the $50,000 put aside for the zoo, the $50,000 put aside for the HDC and the $20,000 for PRUDE is now in the grants committee envelope.
“We’ve received emails from HDC about timing for that organization as their fiscal year runs January to December, so if we’re talking about coming back with recommendations in February, I’m not sure where that puts that organization,” says Sullivan.
“My intentions coming in tonight was actually to support the budget as a whole and just make my comments on the tax rate, and I know it’s small in a $154-million budget but it’s still important to me that those three organizations that now we’ve put on notice and delayed.”
This is the ninth budget in a row to pass without an increase in the property tax rate.
The budget itself has $52-million set aside for public safety including fire and police services, $12.8-million will be invested in roads through this budget, $2-million in sidewalks, and the budget also includes a growth reserve fund of $450,000 and an increase in the development incentives grant pot of $350,000.
“I think [the growth reserve fund is] a very solid signal to citizens that we’ve been listening,” says mayor Don Darling. “Transit, roads, public safety, the asset management plan going forward in 2017 is critical and investing in our priority neighbourhoods.”
In the budget, council is warned that while spending has gone up, revenues have only seen “minimal” growth, and that the debenture balance has more than double in the last decade. As well, tax base growth has been stagnant since 2009 and is expected to be 0.59% next year.
#sjcouncil has voted to establish general operating reserve fund & to move $2M from general operating fund to reserve & move $2.8M from 1/2.
— Laura Lyall (@LauraLyall) December 12, 2016
…water and sewerage utility fund to safe clean drinking water capital reserve fund 2/2 #sjcouncil.
— Laura Lyall (@LauraLyall) December 12, 2016
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