West Nipissing council passed the 2022 budget with a tax levy increase of 1.00 percent, lower than council had anticipated in March. “This represents an increase to the average homeowner of $19 annually,” Alisa Craddock, the municipality’s treasurer explained.
She mentioned that “significant increases in insurance costs and continued COVID related costs” increased anticipated spending. However, those increased costs have been “partially mitigated this year through a transfer of prior year surpluses,” which kept the increase to taxes low.
Overall, the municipality expects $30,866,388 in total revenues. $18,664,053 of this revenue comes from the municipal tax levy. As for costs, expenses were originally anticipated to hover around $27 million. However, as those costs increased for reasons out of council’s hands, that line was revised to $36,065,388.
To cover the difference, the municipality also drew from its reserve fund, and with user fees, dividends from West Nipissing Power Generation “and other provincial funding,” that deficit is covered.
Some of the big-ticket costs include staff at $8,437,575, and operating expenses ring in at $7,796,533. The police cost the municipality $4,684,750.
In March, while council was in the depths of budget planning, a 2.37 per cent increase was bandied about but after a few more meetings, staff and council were able to whittle that down by over half.
See: The budget’s on the table, and West Nipissing might raise you 2.37 per cent
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
