The village of Ashcroft is considering a 3.5 tax rate increase for its 2024 budget.
During the regular meeting Monday, Feb. 12, chief administrative officer Yogi Bhalla went over the 2024 draft budget with mayor and council.
“It means a lot of hard work to keep everything under control but it’s working with 3.5,” Bhalla told council, adding the next step will be to take the draft budget to the public for feedback.
“I think we have reached a limit and I don’t want to see us squeezing people anymore,” he said.
Water and sewer rates will not be increased in 2024 and Bhalla anticipates he will still be able to put aside $63,000 in reserves for next year.
Bhalla went over the draft budget in detail, outlining where costs are increasing.
An example that hit home was the town’s Fortis bill where the actual cost of gas was $559 and the total bill was $3,125. Of that total was $812 for carbon tax.
“This is not in our control, but it does impact our cost of living and people’s day-to-day lives,” he said. “I don’t know how we can escalate those concerns.”
Another increase is the cost of CPP and EI benefits which have gone from $50,000 from $30,000, while the cost of chemicals for the town’s new hot tub rose to $60,000, from $40,000.
There is $150,000 going into the sewage treatment plant budget.
As the plant was built in 1975, there have been some upgrades over the years.
“We are slowly moving through our lift stations and getting toward the end of the line so everything has backup in case of power outages,” said Brian Bennewith, director of public works.
Bhalla said he is anticipating an intense recession, with a hard landing that will result in job losses.
“I do expect interest rate declines and will position our investments accordingly.”
