Taxes set to rise four per cent in Burk's Falls

A draft budget report recommends increasing taxes by four per cent in Burk's Falls.

Town council is expected to adopt the budget at its May 21st meeting.

The increase to residents means an additional $67.63 for every $100,000 their property is assessed at.

The increase results in the village collecting an additional $57,375 in taxation revenue.

The four per cent does not include Burk's Falls' annual commitment of its share of the twin hospital project for Huntsville and Bracebridge.

Burk's Falls has a separate tax rate for this project which this year generates about $15,000.

The separate tax rate is applied annually with the money going into a hospital reserve fund.

The local fire department registered the largest increase in this year's budget over last year by rising 120 per cent.

The budget went from $160,815 in 2023 to $352,660.

However the spike was due to the department buying a new fire truck as well as covering engineering costs to prepare for a new fire hall.

The budget for the local arena is increasing 23 per cent from $128,559 in 2023 to $158,120 this year.

The landfill's budget went up 11 per cent to $53,082 from last year's $48,187.

There are six areas where the village does not control costs because they are provincially mandated, and the municipality is levied accordingly.

These are EMS Land Ambulance, the North Bay Parry Sound Health Unit, the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation, Eastholme Home for the Aged, the District of Parry Sound Social Services Administration Board and the OPP.

Each sector experienced nominal increases except the OPP bill which dropped almost $10,000 year over year.

Burk's Falls' OPP budget for this year comes in at $259,217 compared to $268,700 for 2023.

The total budget for these six areas is $402,036.

That's a drop of about $6,000 over last year when the budget came in at $408,073.

Additionally, the budget document indicates the village ended 2023 with a surplus of $140,834 following a year-end audit last month.

The budget outlines several key capital works projects for 2024 including upgrading the water meters, installing a sidewalk on Huston Street, upgrading the local ball diamond and carrying out roof repairs.

The May 21st meeting to formally adopt the budget will include the tax ratios and tax rates as set out by the treasury department which council is also expected to adopt.

Rocco Frangione, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The North Bay Nugget