Next Tuesday the City of Kimberley will host an open house to present the 2014 to 2018 Financial Plan to taxpayers.
The City has released the financial plan in advance of the meeting and it is available for perusal at kimberley.ca
The key point taxpayers look to is how much residential and business taxes will rise.
In 2014, Kimberley residential taxpayers will see a four per cent increase, and business/light industrial will see a three per cent increase.
The City continues to rely heavily on the residential tax base, which makes up 85.88 per cent of all taxation revenue.
The four per cent increase in 2014 includes a 0.28 per cent portion for the Mark Creek Flume.
In 2015, Council projects a four per cent residential increase; in 2016, a 4.74 per cent increase which will include 1.74 per cent for the Mark Creek Flume. In 2017, taxes are projected to rise three per cent and a further three per cent in 2018.
In 2014 the residential flat tax will remain the same at $786 for a residential property with improvements and $310 for a residential property without improvements. The aquatic centre parcel tax will remain at $150.
The general municipal property tax increase for the average single family residence valued at $226,569 is estimated to be $76.40. The total general municipal tax (mill rate tax, flat tax and Aquatic Centre parcel tax) for an average single family residence in 2014 is estimated to be $2,136 before the Home Owner Grant ($5.85 per day) for all municipal services excluding water, sewer and solid waste.
The open house to explain the entire financial plan is scheduled for next Tuesday, April 15, 7 p.m. at Centre 64.
The City had been hosting these open houses to explain the financial plan for several years, but last year decided against the meeting due to low attendance.
However, it was decided to hold a meeting again this year.
“We’ll try it again,” said Mayor Ron McRae. “if we don’t get substantial numbers of people, we’ll look at it again.”