Moosomin mill rate drops to 12.5
June 18, 2013, 2:12 am
Kevin Weedmark
Taxes are going down in Moosomin, as town council has approved a mill rate of 12.5 mills for 2013, a reduction from 21 mills last year. The mill rate had hovered between 18 and 21 mills between 1998 and 2012.
An increase in assessments with a SAMA revaluation allowed the town to reduce the mill rate and bring in a similar amount through taxation.
The mill rate reduction means the town will bring in about the same amount in tax revenue as it would have under the former mill rate with the former total assessment.
The tax levy will bring in $1,981,699 to the town of Moosomin this year, up from $1,812,591 last year, but the majority of the difference is attributed to new construction being added to the tax roll. "It gives us a little more income every year, and makes it easier on the tax base we already have," said Mayor Larry Tomlinson.
With new commercial and residential construction, the total tax levy has been increasing each year by between $150,000 and $180,000. Two years ago, the town raised $1,697,052 through property taxes.
Mayor Larry Tomlinson said the budget committee went into the process with the aim of keeping the total tax levy in line with last year's. "We went back and tried to keep it equal to what it would be with the new construction," Tomlinson says.
He says it helps with the annual budgeting process when there is new construction adding to the tax base each year.
The differential between residential and commercial taxes will be increasing this year.
The average assessment on homes doubled in the latest revaluation, while the assessment of businesses went up by about a third.
Because of that, council opted to increase the differential between residential and commercial taxes so that commercial properties in total still pay the same proportion of total taxes.
The residential mill rate factor has been decreased from .8499 to .7665, while the commercial mill rate factor has been increased from 1.5524 to 1.8373. The agricultural mill rate has also been increased from .8606 to 1.0469.
Because the taxable assessment of residential properties is 70 per cent of the assessed value and the taxable assessment of commercial properties is 100 per cent, the municipal portion of property taxes on a home with a $200,000 assessment will $1,340, while the municipal portion of property taxes on business with a $200,000 assessment will be $4,593-more than triple a residential property.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business has repeatedly criticized Moosomin for already having a relatively large differential between residential and commercial taxes.
"We wanted to keep the ratio the same, so that businesses were paying the same amount overall," Tomlinson says. "Because the value of houses went up more than businesses, some businesses will still be paying less in taxes this year."
The town will receive more in funding from higher levels of government this year. The town's share of provincial revenue sharing will increase from $499,007 last year to $556,612 in 2013. Moosomin will also receive $140,650 in gas tax funding.
The town is starting to put money away for the anticipated purchase of a new fire truck in 2015. People will notice on their October utility bills that the quarterly charge for fire equipment will rise from $3 to $9 per quarter, with the funds earmarked for the new fire truck.
Infrastructure is a big component of the town's budget. The town of Moosomin will spend $400,000 on pavement recapping this year, and $75,000 on pavement repair.
The town will spend $125,000 to add rock to the new sewage lagoon cell to solve an erosion problem, and will make the first of 10 annual payments of $83,661 for the lagoon expansion.
The town will also spend $150,000 sandblasting, coating, and painting the water tower, $35,000 for new anthracite coal and maganese/greensand for the water treatment plant, and will purchase a camera for sewer line inspections for $15,000.
The town has also budgeted $45,000 to finish preparing lots on the former hospital site for sale, $20,000 for a "Welcome to Moosomin sign," with the cost shared by the Chamber of Commerce, and $42,000 for two used pickup trucks-one for the recreation department and one for public works.
Tomlinson said some of the infrastructure work should have been done in previous years.
"Some of the stuff being done at the water tower should have been done two years ago," he said. "It's overdue, and it has to be done."
The budget also includes $280,000 for the new dressing rooms, upgraded lighting, and reverse osmosis system for the Communiplex. Grants and donations have helped with the upgrades at the rink.
The budget includes $152,032 for policing costs, up $14,000 from last year.
