Nip and tuck budgeting keeps Berwick tax increase to a minimum

BY SARA KEDDY

Kings County Register

Jumping on an aside by the town accountant there were other options than the eight presented to shave a $160,000 budget shortfall in Berwick for 2008/ 2009 - including three that raised the tax rate in different ways, Berwick councillors spent a painful half-an-hour picking through the “nickel and diming” $30,000 Mike MacLean was holding onto if councillors could even come close on their own.

MacLean had shaved from a couple of hundred dollars to close to a thousand off multiple line items, and padded anticipated gym rental income and fines by similar amounts.

Councillors liked every one, then went back to the original list and quickly agreed to transfer a two-cent decrease in sewer charges as an increase in the residential and commercial rates, use $24,900 from future gas tax payments to fund the mandatory Integrated Community Sustainability Plan development, defer a half-time support staffer for the chief administrative officer ($13,100) and reduce October election expenses from $12,000 to $8,000.

Council also took back an extra $15,000 from proposed capital reserve savings, which MacLean warned would not affect this year’s spending, but that the town “would pay” when it tried to balance year two and further years’ capital programs. He had suggested a $10,000 shaving as the least impactful.

Council agreed to increase a draw on its accumulated surplus “rainy day” fund from $12,000 to $15,000.

“It’s been raining very hard,” Councillor Mike Trinacty said.

MacLean said there is validity to this increased draw, as the town took a $95,000 hit on its tax income from a reassessment of the old Avon Foods buildings in the Berwick Industrial Park.

“It shouldn’t be easy to reach for that jar, and we can’t do it every year and keep finding it,” MacLean said.

MacLean suggested adding two per cent to the residential and commercial tax rates. Added to the 2.3 per cent assessment increase, that 4.3 per cent is equivalent to past annual increases. Councillors Trinacty and Anna Ashford Morton spoke up in disagreement, Trinacty as chairman of the new economic development advisory committee to say he’d be reluctant to see any more than a one per cent increase.

“Where are we compared to other units?” Ashford Morton asked.

“Higher than the county, and that’s where we’re compared when businesses are looking at Highway 1 or here in town,” Trinacty responded.

Council also killed outright any suggestion to put any or all of the shortfall on the rates as a flat increase.

If you load everything on the tax rate, we’ll balance the budget - the risk is mostly to those around this table,” MacLean said. “If we cut, that means less funding for everything we want to do.”

With the tinkerings, council is looking at a residential rate of $1.585 on $100 of assessment and $3.40 for the commercial rate, and came within $800 of the shortfall.

“I can find that,” MacLean said.

“Actually, I’d like to aim for more than the shortfall, and say right now any extra would go back into the things we have cut: the surplus reserves, the grants to small organizations and the projects we want to do.”

The budget will come to the June 9 council meeting, and should be approved that evening.

“We have tight budgets every year, and it’s a worry, worry, worry,” Mayor John Prall said.