Corner Brook will raise fees, not taxes, in 2015

Corner Brook City Council introduced its budget on Monday night.

Residents will not be seeing their taxes go up in 2015, but they will be seeing an increase in fees that they pay to the city.

At the meeting, it was revealed that every home and business will be charged an extra $75, which will go towards the coast of operating the new water treatment plant.

Deputy Mayor Bernd Staeben said council considered raising the tax rate, but decided to wait until new property assessments are done. 

"2016 will be a new provincial assessment year, where everybody will be assessed," he said.

"That will be the time, I think, when we will look at the mil rate."

The current rate for residential properties in Corner Brook is eight mils.

Rising costs

Early drafts of the budget showed a deficit of more than $1.7 million.

The reason is the rising cost of running the city dump, and the new water treatment plant, which will cost over a million dollars a year to operate.

As well, the former Pepsi Centre is now run by the city, which means those operating costs will also be added to the deficit.

Chris Noseworthy of the Greater Corner Brook Board of Trade is pleased the city decided to hold off on raising property taxes.

"I think the way that the city brought in a small increase in the unit rate was a good, fair and justifiable way of doing things," he said.

In total, the budget for 2015 will be slightly more than $33 million.