Temagami council is expected to approve an eight per cent increase in its municipal tax levy at its June 8 council meeting.
Council met May 25 to discuss the budget, as well as to consider an unanticipated project to apply gravel and hard-surface treatment on Fox Run Road.
Resident Josh Campbell made a half-hour long presentation on the issues facing residents on Fox Run Road, White Bear Court, and Stevens Road, and the need to upgrade the road in that area, which has deteriorated.
He outlined that residents and visitors are seeing damage to their tires and vehicles from sharp stones that have risen to the surface, and even dog walkers are seeing their pets getting injuries to their feet. Dust is also preventing people from walking on the road, using the outdoors, or hanging their laundry out, he stated.
Council has agreed with the urgency of the project and approved staff to obtain quotes for the gravel and hard-surfacing treatment for Fox Run Road with the objective of having the work done this summer. An engineer is also to be sought to guide the project.
Town treasurer/administrator Craig Davidson anticipates the project will have a cost of approximately $900,000. It has been suggested that needed funds could be withdrawn from the municipal reserves.
Davidson later stated in an email that at the end of 2022 the town had $3.3 million in reserves.
He said of the Fox Run Road project that “I would like to get gravel on as soon as possible.”
Councillor Carol Lowery commented on the need to get the road project done properly.
“Council did spend a lot of money (on the road) a few years ago to remediate it,” she said.
“I just want to make sure we do it right. I don’t want to redo it. Let’s get it right. If it needs an engineer, let’s get an engineer.”
The resolution for the road work contained a reference to hard-surfacing in September this fall, but Councillor Barret Leudke questioned that, wondering why the hard surfacing could not be done immediately following the application of the gravel.
Davidson said he is assuming that it will take time to acquire an engineer for the project, and that could delay the project by a month. Council agreed to remove the time reference so that the hard-surfacing treatment can be done earlier if possible.
TAX HIKE
The eight per cent increase in the municipal tax levy, expected to be approved by council June 8, translates to a 7.16 per cent increase in tax rates, due to a modest increase in the assessed tax base, the town explained in online comments regarding the taxes.
The average assessment would see an increase in tax levy of $150 annually, Davidson later stated in an email. The town’s total budget, expected to be approved June 8, would be $7,387,524.
Davidson stated council settled on an eight per cent municipal tax levy increase when they met at a previous meeting. A municipal tax levy increase as high as 9.5 per cent had been discussed, but council decided the town “could go ahead” with the eight per cent increase, “with the understanding that anything over and above that would be from our reserves.”
An online comment from the municipality about budget preparations noted that initially the council looked at a four per cent increase in the municipal tax levy for 2023, but this would have required drawing out about one-third of the town’s reserves to finance the 2023 budget.
Deputy Mayor Jamie Koistinen, who chaired the meeting in Mayor Dan O’Mara’s absence, noted there are other upcoming projects that the town must complete in the near future, such as the UV filtration system at the Temagami North lagoon.
Councillor Jo-Anne Platts also noted during the May 25 meeting that the town is spending $500,000 annually to be a partner of Au Chateau, a long-term care home in Sturgeon Falls. The town would like to withdraw from the arrangement, but is facing obstacles in that objective.
By Darlene Wroe, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Original Published on May 31, 2023 at 08:08
Recent Comments