The 2009 budget and mill rate were officially settled on Tuesday, April 14. While actual taxes for individual property owners will be higher or lower depending on the type of property, the average property taxes will increase by 3.8 percent in 2009.
Director of Finance Marion Vanoni presented council with three different taxation options, depending on how large a surplus they wanted to keep for emergencies or changes as the year goes on. Council chose the first option, a 3.8 percent increase that leaves a projected $261 surplus.
The other options were for a 4.5 percent increase to give a $40,000 surplus, and a 6.1 percent increase to give a $140,000 surplus.

Council split along now traditional lines over how much of a surplus to tax for.
Councillor Gary Taje said that a $261 surplus would see the municipality running very tight this year. There will always be things you cannot plan for, he said, and choosing the lowest option would not leave enough room for administration to handle the community's affairs.
Councillor Dean Ward argued that if council was going to be prudent, even $40,000 isn't a lot. He said that council should go with as low of a tax increase as possible after last year's 11.2 percent tax hike.
... For the full story, see the April 21 issue of the Pass Herald.