Feature Article July 31, 2002
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Modest Tax increase for North Frontenacby Will CybulskiLike death, taxes with regular raises are inevitable, but municipal administrators for North Frontenac have done their homework in keeping this years boost to a modest level. The overall increase works out to 2.76%, and ratepayers should be pleased with the informative laymans explanation that will accompany tax bills when they are sent out.
When assessing taxes, the types of specific property use are figured in, and those categories are: residential/farm, farmlands, commercial, industrial, managed forest, commercial vacant, and industrial vacant.
The money that is collected gets divvied up among the municipality, Frontenac Management Board, and Education. For 2002, the amounts to be raised through taxation show the municipal portion to be $1,886,063, while Frontenac Management Board and Education are slated for $951,766 and $1,042,165 respectively - making a grand total of $3,879,994. Of that total, the township takes 48%, education garners 27% and FMB gets 25%.
Likely of most concern and interest to local residents is the actual allocation of the municipal portion of our taxes, and disbursements are listed as follows: general government $405,875 (15.75%); fire $184,950 (7.18%); police services $217,034 (8.42%); other protection $164,572 (6.39%); transportation $1,063,140 (41.26%); waste management $143,010 (5.55%); emergency and health services $57,634 (2.24%); recreation $120,200 (4.67%); and capital $220,148 (8.54%). Overall, those numbers represent year 2002 municipal budgeted expenses of $2,576,563.
When you compare the raw numbers, it would appear that there is a shortfall between tax monies raised and proposed expenditures for the Township; however, there is an array of methods whereby other dollars come in to the municipalitys coffers. Some of those include provincial grants, building permit and planning application fees, hall rentals, penalties and interest on late tax accounts, and past surpluses, to name but a few.
Running the municipality is not a pocket change operation, so budgeting the amount of money available must present quite a challenge during deliberations. Some of the costs facing the township are $2,500 to $5,000 to apply a layer of gravel to a kilometer of road, $215 to paint the same distance of centre line, $7,000 for a single hardtop surface to one kilometer, and $17,000 for double, $1,300 per kilometer for annual road maintenance, $1,000 plus material to cover a single dump, and $9,000 to carry out mandatory hydro-geological testing of a waste site, $8,000 to $16,000 to suppress a structural fire, and $13,000 to $25,000 to suppress a one acre wildfire.
Overall, when you talk taxes for the municipality, it is in the millions of dollars. But, to the average property owner in North Frontenac, the actual dollar increase for 2002, based on $100,000 of assessment, works out to only $39.51 over last year. Your tax bill for last year on a $100,000 piece of property was $1,433.62; this year it will be $1,473.13.
When you receive your tax bill, take the time to go over the enclosed information that the municipality has included in its mail-outs. See how your tax dollars are put to work in North Frontenac.
