MARYSTOWN, NL – Marystown’s municipal budget for 2018 has no tax increases or new fees and a previous tax break for seniors has been re-instated.
“I think it’s really good budget,” Mayor Sam Synard said after the budget had been tabled by finance committee chair Coun. Andy Edwards.
“It just shows that we need to hold the line on taxes because the economy is not where we want it to be right now.”
Revenues and expenditures for 2018 are balanced at $7,347,900, which is $137,557 lower than 2017, Edwards noted.
At one point, Marystown offered an $80-credit to residents 65 years of age and older on their property taxes to help cover the cost of snow clearing, brought in to replace free plowing of seniors’ driveways by the town. That credit was eventually scrapped, too.
It has now been brought back and increased to $100 per household.
“I know a number of years ago when council decided to abolish the $80 a year, to a lot of seniors, that was substantial,” Synard said.
“Eighty dollars was a fair bit of money and there was a lot of concern about it actually. It’s just another small incentive assisting people to stay in their homes as long as they can.”
Usually required to be completed before the end of each year, the Department of Municipal Affairs and Environment granted new councils additional time to complete their budgets as 2017 was an election year.
Edwards pointed out the Marystown budget includes funding to purchase vehicles for the public works department.
There’s also funding to buy 12 flow metres to monitor the town’s outfalls as part of new federal guidelines, he said.
Taxes remain the same
There were no tax increases in Marystown’s budget for 2018.
Some of the main fees remain as follows:
Residential mil rate: 7
Commercial mil rate: 8
Minimum property tax: $350
Poll tax: $350
Water tax: $30 per month
Sewer tax: $15 per month
