City of Yorkton proposes 3.93% property tax increase in 2023 preliminary budget
Yorkton City Administration has tabled its preliminary budget for 2023 which could raise taxes to 3.93 per cent, $6.50 to $7 more per average property owner.
The proposed changes include an increase of 2.93 per cent to the operations budget and a 1 per cent increase to the capital budget.
The budget was presented to council during Monday’s council meeting.
“Knowing that we had inflation to deal with and post-COVID, we knew we were up against a real battle. Council doesn’t want to raise taxes, ever,” Mayor Mitch Hippsley said. “We’re at a reasonable number, and I think that people can absorb this."
According to Finance Manager Ashley Stradeski, a previous draft of the budget had an increase to 8 per cent. She said most residents who responded said wanted the increase in costs to be taken on by user fees for city-owned facilities as opposed to additional taxation.
“We took a holistic approach, and looked at other sources of revenue,” Stradeski said. “The biggest impact (was) straight up utilities … essentially, anything the city has to buy has gone up drastically.”
Residents will now have time to provide feedback to council on its preliminary budget.
Public consultation is the next step in finalizing the budget, which is now available on the city’s website.
The budget will be brought back to council at its meeting on Feb. 13.
Last year, Yorkton saw an increase of 4.86 per cent, with increases of 2.36 per cent to RCMP related costs, 0.5 per cent to cover decreases in provincial Municipal Revenue Sharing and one per cent each for the operations and capital budgets.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit the federal carbon price on natural gas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.