Residents of Grand Falls-Windsor won’t have to worry about a raise in taxes in the new year.
The town announced there would not be any increase in residential taxes as a part its 2020 municipal operating budget. The town’s residential mill rate remains at 8.5, while the commercial rate 10.75 mils.
The town's budget of $20.1 million for 2020 was adopted during its Dec. 17 meeting.
“Council remains committed to our core values of providing a safe, environmentally friendly, financially accountable and sustainable community,” said Councillor Amy Coady-Davis, the chairperson of the town’s finance committee, in her budget address. “Council also remains transparent in all the decisions that we make. We are an open book and welcome any suggestions or comments for improvements.”
In the address, Coady-Davis reiterated the town’s desire to work with its unionized workers in order to implement a portion of the recommendations suggested in a recent organizational and operational review, as well as continuing to push to meet the federal and provincial wastewater guidelines in 2020.
The town reported the start of 15 new housing projects in 2019 and a number of commercial developments.
Grand Falls-Windsor believes its capital program expenditures will come in around $17.2 million, of which $11.5 million is from provincial and federal contributions.
That leaves them needing to borrow just over $4.4 million to make things work. As a result, the town’s debt payment ratio stands at nine per cent, among the lowest in the province.
“This budget not only addresses the current needs of residents in our community, but also prepares us for the future,” said Coady-Davis.
Grand Falls-Windsor 2020 budget highlights
• Parks and recreation — $2.4 million
• Economic development and tourism — $341,410
• Engineering and works — $7.3 million
• Protective services — $1.04 million
• Construction of pedestrian bridge on the Corduroy Brook Trail
• A further investment to upgrade the town’s vehicle fleet
• Implementing the community youth mental primary care initiative
• Creating a strategy to protect the heritage of Grand Falls-Windsor