CBS raises residential mil rate by a fraction

By Mark Squibb/December 21, 2022

The Town of Conception Bay South Tuesday night presented a balanced budget of $39.7 million for 2023, up from $37.2 million last year, achieved partially through increases in some fees and services.

The residential mil rate has been increased to 7.30, up 0.15 mils from this past year.

“Back in 2016, our mil rate was 7.25, and we brought it down,” said Mayor Darrin Bent. “So, if you go back six years, we’re actually only 0.5 higher than we were then.”

Water and sewer taxes for residents and businesses will increase by $20, for a total of $635 for residents and $960 per unit base rate for businesses. Schools will also pay an additional $5 per student for water and sewer services.

“Our disciplined expenditure reductions over the last several years, combined with inflationary pressures, COVID-19 supply chain issues, and increasing interest rates, left us very few options to cut expenses in this budget without significantly impacting our core services,” said Deputy Mayor Andrea Gosse, who chairs the Town’s Finance and Administration Committee.

The decision to increase any costs was not an easy one to make, she admitted. “At the end of the day we’ve made the increases as minimal as possible, keeping in mind that we understand global economic challenges and how it affects our residents,” she said.

Daycares, which were previously exempt from business tax, will now pay the minimum tax rate of $350 per year “to ensure an equitable taxing structure for the business community,” Gosse said. “This is not about daycares, but about fairness across the board to our business community.”

That minimum rate is the same that someone would be paying who operates a home-based business.

Speaking of the business community, the Town has held the line on the commercial mil rate, which sits at 11.5 mils.

“We’re trying to grow our business community, and we want to stay competitive with our neighbours,” said Gosse. “And that rate was a good rate to stay at.”

“Business is a competitive atmosphere,” added Bent. “Sometimes, a 0.1 difference in a mil rate will mean whether you’re setting up in one place or another.”

The Town will continue to investigate the potential of the Gateway Industrial Park, though there has been no significant amount budgeted for Gateway specifically next year.

Some $6.9 million is earmarked for roadwork — including $4 million in paving, $2.4 million in upgrades to Minerals Road, and $500,000 for new sidewalks. There’s also $3 million in water and sewer work coming, including new infrastructure and maintenance, $1.8 million for 24/7 snow and ice clearing, and $1 million to complete the final phase of the T’Railway, a 3.2-kilometre extension from Doyles Road to Indian Pond.

Meanwhile, a regional community centre, which will require provincial and federal funding, is still a priority for the Town, though not budgeted for this coming calendar year.

“There won’t be any significant movement on that in 2023, but we are working so that everything is lined up, and that we are ready, and know exactly what that centre will be,” said Gosse. “We’ve already met with different levels of government, federal and provincial, and they know that this is high on our list. And they are enthused and want it for this area. Because that won’t just serve Conception Bay South, it will be a regional facility.”

Bent added that through prudent fiscal management, when the time comes to borrow for the project, the Town will be able to do so without concern.

“We’ll be ready to go, because we’ve put ourselves in that position,” said the mayor. “We’ve made tough choices, and we’ve not added to the staff when we have not had to. There’s no one sitting around here doing noting. Everybody is busy. We could probably use some more staff in some areas, and that’s something that we’ll look at more moving forward. But that’s the fruit of being prudent and managing finances in the absolutely best way possible. It puts us in a strong position, when the time comes, to provide that community centre that our residents not only need, but deserve.”

Typically, Conception Bay South delivers its budget the first week of December.

Gosse and Bent both noted the delay this time is a testament to the many hours put into the budget behind the scenes to make it fair and equitable to all.