At Monday’s meeting, members of city council unanimously adopted the 2025 capital and operating budgets.
This will include gross expenditures of $39,608,172 for capital and $183,967,823 for operating.
The property tax levy is $72,964,325 up from $68,816,203 in 2024 or a 6.03 per cent increase.
As a result, the increase to the property tax levy this year will be 3.93 per cent, down from the proposed 4.93 per cent.
To shave a percentage point off the initial budget proposal, the city’s treasurer Dan Sheridan advised he had to come up with $1.5 million in savings.
That was accomplished by using federal gas tax money for capital budget projects.
“So, basically we’ve reduced the contribution from the (tax levy) to the capital budget by $1.5 million,” explained Sheridan.
Some of that money will go toward the purchase of a new pumper truck and 60 portable radios for the fire service.
An additional $450,000 or so was taken out of reserves to finally break ground next year on the long overdue new animal shelter adjacent to the Douglas J. Tarry Sports Complex.
And an environmental assessment related to a possible arterial connection from Dalewood Drive to Balaclava Street was shelved for this year.
Written by Ian McCallum
