“Some people will be happy and some won’t.”
That’s how Puslinch Clerk and Treasurer Brenda Law summed up the township’s 2009 budget – including a 1.03% increase in township taxes – which was passed unanimously by council on June 3.
The budget has $5,754,910 in total expenditures and $3,443,449 in total revenue.
That leaves $2,311,461 to be raised through taxes this year, up 2.7% over last year.
However, due to increased assessment across the township, the actual impact on residents will be about 1.03%. Depending on assessment, some taxpayers could actually see a decrease in township taxes, while most will see a minor rise, and some may see a more significant increase.
For instance, a homeowner with a residence assessed at $332,000 will pay $601 in township taxes and $3,869 in total taxes this year. Those figures are down from $676 and $4,071 respectively for a house valued at the same price last year.
However, homes in the township have been assessed a higher value in 2009 due to an updated current value assessment from the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation.
This is the first of four years over which those increases will be implemented.
Law explained anyone with an increase of 5% or less this year will likely see a decrease in taxes, while around 6% means taxes will be about the same as in 2008. However, owners of larger homes in Puslinch – some of which had an increase in assessment of 15% just for this year – could see a significant increase in taxes, she noted.
Yet councillors and staff seemed pleased with the relatively small increase in the township tax levy this year (in 2008 it was 18.4%).
“I think it’s a good budget and it will allow us to do everything we want to do this year,” Law said.
Mayor Brad Whitcombe agreed and thanked staff for being “fiscally responsible” while also ensuring residents receive the level of services they deserve.
Significant expenditures in the 2009 budget include:
– $4,500 for three laptops for councillors.
– $15,000 for a development charges review;
– $56,000 for safety equipment, training, breathing apparatus, office furniture and other items for the fire department;
– $107,371 for conservation authority levies (Hamilton, Halton, and Grand River);
– $185,000 for the paving of Concession 4;
– $280,000 for legal, audit and engineering fees, including funds to cover the ongoing Aikensville Ontario Municipal Board hearing and preliminary fees for the Big Lake project;
– $490,000 for work on Hume and Ellis Roads (of which $373,480 came from an Investing in Ontario grant); and
– $785,725 for the completion of the Carroll Pond.
