Dauphin residents will once again see a slight increase in their municipal taxes this year according to budget documents presented at a public hearing, May 5.
The mill rate has been set at 19.513 for 2024, up from last year’s 18.937. The tax levy will net the City $7,276,549 this year, roughly 3.5 per cent over the 2023 take.
What that means for homeowners is an extra $71 on their tax bills
With costs increasing due to inflation, several large infrastructure underway on Main Street South, at the Buckwold Bridge and out at the sewage lagoon, council decided to act before falling behind as they have seen other municipalities do, mayor David Bosiak said.
“All of those things combined with inflation, combined with two new union contracts that were signed last year with our staff, we felt that a modest tax increase that was consistent with the rate of inflation would be manageable,” Bosiak said. “We’ve gone through a period of fairly steady, not spectacular, but steady assessment growth. For several years during that period we used just the growth in assessment to continue to do business. But council didn’t want to get into a position that other municipalities are in right now. We talked to several at AMM that are having double digit tax increases in an effort to catch up after years of no tax increases.”
Bosiak added discussions, which he described as thoughtful, were held around possibly raising the mill rate more in anticipation of capital expenditures which might surface in the future
“Council decided that we would go to our taxpayers when we know exactly what the costs of things will be and not before,” Bosiak said, adding as an example a project which might begin two years down the road, but asking for the money now and collecting interest on it until it was spent. “We thought that it was much better that the people hold on to their own money until there’s an actual need and the project is occurring, at the present time or the very near future.”
In looking to the future, Bosiak said council is philosophically committed to a tax system that is consistent with inflation
“So that we don’t get behind, just on the basic cost of things,” he said.
To that end, $1.6 million will be drawn from reserves to finance operations this year. Bosiak said it seems incongruous to ask taxpayers for more while stockpiling in reserve funds.
“We need to take money out of our piggy banks before we can ask people to take it out of theirs,” he said, adding there is, however, a balance the city should maintain in reserve. “And so last year we reduced our reserves by a couple of million dollars and we’re doing the same again this year.
“We are still maintaining our reserves slightly above the benchmark that (Finance director Scott Carr) outlined, which is equivalent to about one years’s worth of taxation. So we have about a $7.5 million line that we don’t want to get under.”
Revenue from other sources will also see a significant increase, climbing to $13,679,515 from just under $6 million last year, driven mainly by conditional provincial transfers expected to hit $7.9 million this year. Grants of $3.8 million for the Main Street South rehabilitation and $3 million for the upcoming daycare project account for the majority of the increase.
Overall, General Fund revenue for 2024 has been budgetted at $21,746,898.
On the expenditure side, all areas have seen slight increases.
The General Government Services budget is set at $1,556,173 up from $1,446,878 last year. The 8.6 per cent increase will, among other things, include regular staff wage increases and community grants and appropriations, which have risen to $74,600, up by $16,600 over last year.
The Protective Services budget has been set at $3,991,353 compared to $3,584,908 in 2023. At $3,034,015, the RCMP contract accounts for the majority of spending and the increase of 6.3 per cent.
Transportation Services will see expenditure totalling $2,049,481, up from the $1,905,366 budgetted last year, an increase of 5.34 per cent. Spending supports operating costs for public works, such as maintenance of curbs and gutters, lanes and roads.
A total of $1,058,926 has been set aside for Environmental Health Services, up slightly by 2.78 per cent from the $1,043,884 budgetted last year.
Public Health and Welfare Services also increased slightly, by 4.4 per cent from the $33,749 budgetted last year to $35,249 this year. The money spent covers the one-tier social assistance payment to Province of Manitoba and will support the Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan currently in development.
Environmental Development Services has been allotted $288,427 for 2024 compared to $179,605 last year, an increase of 29.68 per cent, which will support a Zoning Bylaw review starting soon. Expenditures also include the Dutch Elm Disease tree removal, Communities in Bloom and weed control.
The budget for Economic Development Services, at $635,977 has been set considerably higher than the actual $394,333 spent last year. It is an increase of 20.97 per cent to the budget, which fluctuates depending on development.
When it comes to Recreation and Cultural Services, the $2,254,441 budgetted this year is an increase of 4.13 per cent from the 2023 budget of $2,170,892.
While 87 per cent of expenditures make up the appropriation to Dauphin Recreation Services, the budget also supports facilities such as the Watson Arts Centre, Fort Dauphin Museum, Dauphin Rail Museum, and the Dauphin Public Library.
Finally, Fiscal Services saw a big jump to $8,186,721 this year from $148,902 because of conditional provincial grants.
Utilities
In the Utility Fund, income is projected at $3,396,096.
The bulk of that income will come through residential water sales budgeted at just over $2.3 million and sewer service charges totalling $669,029.
On the expenditure side, operation and maintenance of the water supply system accounts for the majority of expenses at just over $2.1 million, while sewage collection and disposal accounts for another $328,625.
The Utility has $623,300 in capital work planned, along with transfers to reserves in the amount of $250,000 and $83,517 in debenture debt charges.
