Timmins residents getting property tax increase
If you live in Timmins, get ready to pay more in property tax.
Tuesday night, city council approved its 2024 taxation fund budget with a three per cent increase.
To keep the rate hike to three per cent, council is taking $260,000 from the city's reserves.
However, a city official told CTV News that how much extra taxpayers will pay won't be known until April as the city is still waiting for some numbers to come in.
"The next step is confirming 2024 school board and property assessments and approved budgets for the city’s service partners and provincially mandated programs, before approving the final tax rates for 2024,'" Natalie Moore, the city's director of finance, is quoted as saying in the news release.
Timmins' net operating budget is $36,741,667 this year.
- Download the CTV News app now
- Get local breaking news alerts
- Daily newsletter with the top local stories emailed to your inbox
"The operating budget covers the cost of daily municipal services such as maintenance of city roads, public transit, garbage collection, snow removal, and parks and arena maintenance," the city said.
More than $10 million of the $38 million capital budget will be covered by taxes, while the balance will be covered by the city's reserves.
"Capital funds support the creation, repair, or replacement of municipal assets that are required to deliver daily services to the community, including infrastructure like roads. This amount does not include capital expenses related to water and wastewater, which are approved as part of the separate utilities fund budget," the city said.
Here are a few things included in the capital budget:
- $2.1 million for road repair through the City’s grind and pave program
- $3.5 million (offset by funding) for upgrades to the Mattagami and Porcupine bridges as part of Connecting Link rehabilitation
- $2 million (offset by funding) for repairs to the Mattagami boat launch pier and retaining wall
- $1.7 million in fleet purchases for the Timmins Fire Department
- $5.6 million for Porcupine River Bridge construction (offset with reserve and funding)
- Continue Golden Manor redevelopment
- Final downtown segment of the Connecting Link
- Implementing some recommendations from the updated recreation master plan
"We are focused on meeting residents’ daily needs and making long-term plans that will move Timmins forward with room for expansion and development," city CAO Dave Landers is quoted as saying in the news release.
"We recognize that our financial resources are finite, and have worked diligently to balance service delivery with capital demand, such as road and infrastructure upgrades."
Mayor Michelle Boileau said city council focused on how it can work to improve the quality of life of residents.
"The budget will support a variety of projects and programs that will rehabilitate necessary infrastructure, prioritize community safety and well-being, and encourage growth and development," Boileau said.
TRANSIT MODERNIZATION
Meanwhile, Timmins transit said it has some modernization plans in the works for this year.
Officials said this includes four new conventional buses, a new fare box system and the introduction of a micro-transit pilot project for riders in the Porcupine and South Porcupine areas.
This will include the use of a new Timmins on-demand app currently in development.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Loblaw leaders push back on 'misguided criticism' of grocer as boycott begins
Loblaw's new chief executive, as well as chairman Galen Weston, pushed back on what they called 'misguided criticism' of the grocer as a push to boycott the company gains steam online.
TD Bank hit with $9.2M penalty after failing to report suspicious transactions
Canada's financial intelligence agency says it has levied a $9.2-million penalty against The Toronto-Dominion Bank for non-compliance with money laundering and terrorist financing measures as the bank also faces compliance investigations in the U.S.
Orangutan observed treating wound using medicinal plant in world first
Scientists working in Indonesia have observed an orangutan intentionally treating a wound on their face with a medicinal plant, the first time this behavior has been documented.
This Canadian restaurant just lowered its prices. Here's how it did it
A Canadian restaurant lowered its prices this week, and though news of price tags dropping rather than climbing sounds unusual, the business strategy in this case is not, according to experts in the field.
There's a limit to how much interest rates in Canada and U.S. can diverge: Macklem
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says Canadian interest rates don't have to match U.S. or global rates, but there is a limit to how much they can diverge.
Prince William and Kate release photo of daughter Charlotte to mark ninth birthday
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
Doctors concerned about potential spread of bird flu in Canada
H5N1 or avian flu has been detected at dozens of U.S. dairy farms and Canadian experts are urging surveillance on our side of the border too.
Airbnb's Icons allow you to drift off in the 'Up' house or rest in Prince's 'Purple Rain' mansion
The vacation destination rental company announced a new category of 'Icons,' a collection of 'extraordinary experiences hosted by the greatest names in music, film, television, art, sports, and more.'
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Goring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.