Rothesay residents will not see any changes to their property tax rates next year.
Town council voted Tuesday to approve the $23.8-million general operating budget.
The residential tax rate will remain unchanged at $1.19 per $100 of assessed value.
Non-residential properties in the town will pay 1.7 times more, which works out to $2.023.
While Rothesay’s assessment base has grown 10.8 per cent, the municipality is also dealing with increasing costs.
“Like everyone else, the costs for running a municipality are going up. The costs for fuel, the costs for materials, the costs for consultants, the costs for labour,” town manager John Jarvie said during a budget presentation on Oct. 31.
“At the same time, council has a fairly ambitious program to expand facilities and improve the amenity value in the community.”
Staff said besides the increase in property assessments, there are no significant changes to other revenue sources.
The town’s carryforward surplus has dropped by $145,000 year over year to just under $129,000 for 2024.
Rothesay will also see its core equalization funding from the province drop by just over $26,000.
The town is also seeing annual increases in its snowplowing ($360,000) and waste disposal ($100,000) contracts.
Insurance premiums are also expected to climb 10 to 15 per cent, or about $25,000.
Additional money is also being moved into a fund to help cover increased costs for capital projects.
Meanwhile, water and sewer rates will be going up as part of the town’s nearly $3.9-million utility operating budget.
The base water usage rate will increase to $1.29 per cubic metre from $1.24 while the fixed user charge will increase to $225 from $215 annually. The base sewer rate would climb to $475 from $435 annually.
Staff said the typical single-family will pay an extra $65 per year with the increases.
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