SHUNIAH, ON — Property-owners in the Municipality of Shuniah will dig a little farther into their pockets this year to pay their taxes.
Although it still has to be passed by council, the draft budget calls for total tax revenue of $4.7 million, an increase of almost five per cent from last year, or about twice the increase seen in recent years.
The property tax rate will actually drop, but because of higher property values determined by Ontario's Municipal Property Assessment Corporation, residents will end up paying an average of $100 more this year.
That's based on an average assessment of $350,000 per property, whose owners currently pay about $2200 in taxes.
Shuniah's total municipal tax revenue over the preceding four years increased by an average of 2.45 per cent per year.
Mayor Wendy Landry says the municipality needs a larger increase this year to meet higher levies from agencies such as the District Social Services Administration Board, Superior North EMS, the Thunder Bay District Health Unit and the OPP.
"That's without touching any of our [existing] services, Landry told Tbnewswatch.
She said that, historically, the municipality of 2800 has used reserve funds to keep tax rates "fairly low."
A recently-developed policy established targets for how much reserves the community needs to set aside, and how the money should be used. The policy is another reason that Shuniah officials and councillors have determined they need a larger increase in revenue this year.
According to CAO Paul Greenwood, the draft budget includes spending about $162,000 from operating working reserves and $980,000 from capital reserves.The bulk of the capital expenditure is for two new fire trucks.
Greenwood said Shuniah expects to have well over $5 million in reserve by the end of this year, including $1.8 million operating and $3.8 million capital.
The municipality is also asking a consultant to conduct an arms-length organizational and compensation review,
"We want somebody to come out and be very upfront, to give us their opinion as to how we can most effectively and efficiently deliver programs and services," Greenwood said.
The review will include compensation levels for non-union employees.
Landry said "It's not that we're in trouble or anything, it's just that we're trying to be proactive for the next 10 years."
She said the municipality is challenged to keep taxes in check while maintaining service levels because provincial grants through the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund have been dropping for the last 10 years.
Levies from outside agencies are higher, she said, because of relatively high assessment levels in Shuniah.
At a council meeting last month, the Treasurer noted, as an example, that if DSSAB raises its costs by two per cent, Shuniah's cost goes up by five per cent due to assessment.
The municipality and other rural communities struggling to pay for services continue to plead their case to the provincial government.
Greenwood, who had talks on the issue just recently with a government representative, said "We're not just going to sit back...Hopefully we'll see some changes in the OMPF and levy distribution."
