Tecumseh budget 2019: $17.5M capital spends, no tax rate increase but bigger bill

The Town of Tecumseh council approved its 2019 budget in a meeting Tuesday afternoon.

In the budget presented to council, it says the municipal general tax levy will increase by 4.45 per cent compared to last year with increasing costs to provide services to the town, like policing.

"There's an increase in the amount of dollars that will be collected," said mayor Gary McNamara.

However, the municipal tax rate will go down by 0.9 per cent, because of "rising market value for homes," said director of financial services and treasurer Luc Gagnon.

That rising market value means homeowners will see a higher number on their tax bill this year, despite the tax rate having gone down.

For a property valued at $250,000, a homeowner would have to pay an extra $46 for the municipal levy in 2019. Compared to last year, that's a 2.62 per cent increase.

In the capital budget, the town outlined its plans to use $17.5 million on a number of projects, including reconstruction of South Talbot Road and extending the North Talbot Road sanitary sewer.

"You can see it's an aggressive capital plan," said Mayor Gary McNamara.

He said the town typically averages around $16 million in capital expenditures per year.

The money will be drawn out of a reserve fund, which he said has accumulated roughly $41 million.

"That's to take care of the future requirements of the community," said McNamara. "When required to replace those assets, we don't have to increase taxes specifically [for] one item, like a $1-million ladder truck."

The town has also budgeted for $2.5 million in debt payments during 2019.

McNamara said the town's debt has gone down from $23 million to $16 million over the last four years.