Regional District Portion of Taxes Set
By 250 News
Wednesday, March 31, 2010 11:54 AM
Prince George, B.C.- The Regional District of Fraser Fort George has adopted it’s budget for 2010, and it will mean Prince George residents will pay $73.32 per hundred thousand dollar assessed value of their home to cover the Regional District portion of their tax bill. That is up $13.09 from last year (20.48% ) .
This is the second time this month the Regional District has tried to pass this budget, but it was delayed so that staff could come back with a budget which reflected a different balance in how the costs for waste management would be collected.
Initially, the plan called for the costs to be covered on a 50-50 basis, with 50% coming from taxes, and 50% coming from tipping fees. Staff was requested to come back with a budget which reflected a 75% tax- 25% tipping fee formula.
The requisition calls for an overall increase of $1.18 million in the amount collected from Prince George, most of which is a result of the solid waste program which is facing a deficit. The cost for solid waste management charges to Prince George will be up by nearly $738 thousand over last year. Director Dan Rogers says switching to a 75-25 formula would reduce the "tipping fee shock" for those who are on the scales. He says construction firms have already indicated a 50% increase is just too high during fragile economic times. The 50% hike would also mean significant increases in utility bills for Prince George residents. "This isn't about changing the amount being collected, it is about how the money is collected and spreading out the burden to avoid that tipping fee shock" says Director Rogers.
Other significant increases for Prince George are about $140 thousand more for Emergency response, and approximately $35 thousand more for heritage conservation.
The Regional District charges fees based on services used by member areas. It is, a user pay system.
Overall, the Regional District's budget is $29 million dollars for 2010, an increase of $3.8 million over last year. Most of the increase is to cover a $2.7 million dollar boost in the Solid Waste Management budget to cover a deficit from last year ($750 thousand) increased contract costs and regulatory costs and implementation of the Solid Waste Management Plan.
There is also an increase to the 9-1-1 budget of just over half a million dollars to replace and upgrade obsolete radio equipment.
Here are the changes in the tax requisition for the other areas in the Regional District
|
Area and cost per $100 thousand assessment
|
Change
|
|
Mackenzie $ 76.58
|
$13.82 / -11 .52%
|
|
McBride $451.34
|
-$13.98 / 6.80%
|
|
Valemount $299.66
|
$22.45 / 20.82%
|
|
Electoral Area “A” $145.26
|
$11.88 / 9.54%
|
|
Electoral Area “C” $145.41
|
$16.19 / 13.50%
|
|
Electoral Area “D” $166.75
|
-$1.19 / -5.66%
|
|
Electoral Area “E” $187.66
|
-$4.27 / -2.09%
|
|
Electoral Area “F” $196.83
|
$25.19 / 16.39%
|
|
Electoral Area “G” $125.15
|
$6.91 / 5.94%
|
|
Electoral Area “H” $139.18
|
$15.68 / 3.64%
|
Each region has a different rate because of different services utilized in their region and different area assessments.
The overall budget for the Regional District for 2010 is $29.1 million, that is an increase of $3.8 million. Nearly one third of the entire budget ($9.8 million) is for solid waste services. The second most significant expense is the 9-1-1 Emergency Response Services ($3.9 million). The budget also calls for $3.5 million for Protective services and $2.6 million for recreation services.
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Posted by: Honestjoe on March 31 2010 5:41 PM
The upper limit of the taxpayers' ability to fund government is approaching.
Can the economy sustain dropping consumer spending due to tax and fee increases by all levels of government? Do the government planers actually understand that consumer spending is the actual engine of the economy? Do they, understand that I took a pay cut this year and increases to taxes and fees must be funded by cuts elswhere in my budget?
I understand that much of the tax increases are generated from changing enviornmental requirements. How many new rules can Canada sustain? I'm sure many people will tell me how necessary the new rules are. However, new rules must also come with a implimentation plan - and a constant stream of tax increses is no longer a viable answer.
Purhaps the "Tea Party" will move north!
Frank