LaSalle councillors were told approved building lots are getting hard to come by, which will have an adverse effect on the town’s bottom line.
Councillors were braced for a projected lack of growth that will present “significant challenges” as they began deliberations Wednesday on the proposed 2016 budget.
The 161-page document they started combing through calls for a 4.48 per cent hike in the municipal residential tax rate. When blended with county and education rates, the combined increase sits at 2.86 per cent.
On a house with an average town assessment of $250,000, that represents a $102.93 increase on the 2016 tax bill.
“What I’ve heard from the public is enough is enough,” councillor Terry Burns said. “Taxes are high enough. Increases in taxes, most people don’t want it. The message I’m getting is maybe it’s time to stop.”
LaSalle councillor Terry Burns is picutred during the Town of LaSalle budget deliberation session on Dec. 16, 2015.
Joe Milicia, the town’s director of finance, told council to “expect less revenue from growth.”
The town budgeted for 187 new homes in 2014 and will see close to 200 new homes by the end of 2015. The 2016 forecast calls for between 150 to 160 new homes.
Fewer lot sales and new home construction will see the town’s revenues drop by a projected $130,000 in 2016 from the $475,000 that was approved in the supplementary levy in the 2015 budget.
Developers are finding the lead time to getting lots approved has stretched significantly due to changes in legislative requirements. Even an ordinary farmer’s field is now considered environmentally sensitive haibitat for certain species such as the Eastern Fox snake.
“We had a couple of developments that went through lengthy delays,” Mayor Ken Antaya said. “The hoops they have to jump through.”
Antaya called any increase “a bad increase.”
Milicia advised councillors to take “a hard look at what we provide and how we provide it.”
LaSalle councillor Jeff Renaud is pictured during the Town of LaSalle budget deliberation session on Dec. 16, 2015
The town began a comprehensive service delivery review in September and a community survey on service levels will start landing on doorsteps in the New Year.
“There are certain levels of service we provide at an exceptional level in LaSalle,” Antaya said. “We have to because that’s what sets us apart. It’s our ace in the hole.”
The proposed budget does not call for any cuts to services.
“That would have to come from council’s direction,” Antaya said.
Council also reviewed a capital budget of $8.5 million with most of that going to public works projects including equipment replacement, road improvements and street lighting.
Deliberations will continue Thursday.
Council hopes to adopt a budget Jan. 12.
