Sturgeon County residents should expect to pay about $72 more on taxes next year now that county council has approved its 2023 budget.
Sturgeon County council voted 6-1 (Coun. Matthew McLennan opposed) Dec. 13 in favour of the 2023 operating and 2023-2025 capital budgets.
Council received the first draft of the budget in October and made substantial revisions to it in November, approving some 21 service enhancements.
The revised budget features about $80 million in operating and $27 million in capital spending funded with a 3.9 per cent tax hike. County spokespersons told the Gazette last month that such a hike would add about $72 to the tax bill of the typical Sturgeon County homeowner. With utilities set to rise $44, the owner of the typical $492,000 home in Sturgeon County should expect to pay about $116 more in municipal taxes and utilities next year — a cost equivalent to about 56 large Tim Hortons coffees.
The budget includes $180,000 for cybersecurity, $130,000 for an agricultural master plan, and $138,710 for a full time environmental sustainability supervisor. It also includes $10,000 a year for five years for the Jessica Martel Memorial Foundation.
McLennan opposed the budget, saying that it was never a good time to raise taxes and most residents wanted taxes to stay flat.
“I feel we’re not listening to the people.”
It was council’s job to balance the demands of residents for services against what was best for the future, said Coun. Kristin Toms.
“Nobody ever at any time is going to say, ‘Yes, I would love a tax increase,’” she said, but services cost money, and “there is no money tree in this place.”
Toms called the budget a conservative one which positioned the county for future growth.
Budget documents can be found at sturgeoncounty.ca.
