Village posts marginal tax increase for 2009

The village of Port Elgin has brought down its budget for 2009, managing to keep its municipal tax rate to just a slight increase.
After a brief discussion at Monday's regular meeting, council voted unanimously to accept the budget as presented.
The budget will be implemented pending approval from the provincial government, which is expected shortly.
The municipal property tax rate for Port Elgin residents and businesses has been set at $1.2976 per one hundred dollars of property value, up only slightly from the 2008 rate of $1.2962.
"We've managed to keep the tax rate at just about the same as last year, which we feel is important to our residents," said Mayor Judy Scott.
Port Elgin's 2009 budget was set at $413,894, up more than $11,000 from that of last year.
Council cited rising operational costs as the reason for the marginal increase.
Unconditional grant funding from the provincial government remained the same as last year, at $60,086.
The municipal tax base, meaning the value of all taxable properties within the village, is calculated at $19,562,525; which translates to an almost $1 million increase.
"That's the number that was given to us by the provincial government, so that's what we've used to calculate our budget," noted village clerk-treasurer Sonia Wells.
"A million dollar increase certainly does help."
The warrant (funds to be raised through local taxes) is projected at $241,640, the same as in 2008.
Non-taxed village revenue, which includes services to other levels of government, various rentals, trailer park rental fees as well as interest on investments is projected at $100,951, the same as the previous year.
For the most part, projected expenses are up over those of 2008, however there are a few exceptions.
Insurance fees remained the same as that of 2007 and 2008, at $14,070.
The fire department budget was reduced $10,000, from $101,340 in 2008 to $91,340 in 2009; in part due to a surplus in utility costs from 2006.
The cost of government services, which among other things includes village buildings maintenance, staff salaries and legal and banking fees, increased almost $6,000 to $102,106.
The cost for RCMP coverage within the village also increased from $45,100 in 2008 to $48,257 in 2009.
The Port Elgin Public Library saw a steep increase in its 2009 budget, up some $8,000 over last year to $14,640.
Wells noted that the facility has undergone some major refurbishment over the past few months with more expected to take place in the near future.
"There was a lot of work that really needed to be done," she said.
Port Elgin's utility budget for 2009 was set at $109,172.
Despite projected increased costs for maintenance and repair to the village's aging water lift stations, council has managed to keep the utility rates at the same as last year, set at $241.11.