City budget calls for tax and levy hike

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This article was published 07/03/2016 (3536 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The 2016 preliminary budget for the City of Winnipeg calls for a 2.33 per cent property tax increase in addition to an increased frontage levy.

Mayor Brian Bowman’s executive policy committee tabled the preliminary budget on March 2.

In 2016, one per cent of the property tax increase will be dedicated to local street, lane and sidewalk renewal, one per cent will go to the renewal of regional streets and sidewalks, with the remaining .33 per cent going to payments for the Southwest Rapid Transitway and the Pembina Highway Underpass project.

The change in property taxes will amount to $38 more each year (a total of $1,656) for the average home assessed at $288,190.

The increased frontage levy will see residents paying $1.10 more per foot.

The levy will rise from $4.35 per frontage foot to $5.45 per frontage foot. The annual impact on a 50-foot lot is $55. This year, $10 million of frontage levy revenue will fund the bridge renewal program in the capital budget, officials say.

Other notable developments in the 2016 preliminary budget include:
• The approval of  a loan guarantee for operational cash  flow management purposes at Assiniboine Park Conservancy (APC) in an amount not to exceed $500,000;

• The city’s loan guarantee of APC’s non-revolving term loan facility ($9,610,000 outstanding), which expires on Dec. 31, 2016, be extended to December 31, 2018.  The guarantee facilitates the ongoing collection of charitable donation pledges which are the source of repayment for the loan facility.

• That the city authorize spending of up to $3.8 million for Recreation Facility Replacement – New Infrastructure in 2016 or prior to the adoption of the 2017 Capital Budget as a first charge against the General Capital Fund. This is to facilitate “timely work on the Waverley West community campus.”

• The city’s business tax rate will be decreased from 5.6 per cent to 5.3 per cent in 2016. The budget also calls for a Small Business Tax Credit bylaw that will provide a full rebate of municipal business taxes for businesses with an annual rental value of $32,220 or less in 2016.

The 2016 preliminary budget is balanced, but also forecasts a $51.7 million deficit in 2017 and an $81.9 million deficit in 2018.