Despite rising costs of inflation, the Village of Ashcroft has kept its tax increase to 2.5 per cent this year.
Chief financial officer Yoginder Bhalla emphasized this point at a public meeting on April 11, when he discussed the 2023 budget ahead of its adoption on May 10. Bhalla said the village remains in a financially secure position, and noted tax rises in other communities across B.C.
“Despite this, we have kept our tax increase to two-and-a-half per cent, which I think is about the lowest in the province. We have managed that because we paid off our debt and did well with our investments,” Bhalla said. “We didn’t get caught up in the bond market fiasco which happened. We got into short-term investments that have helped keep our taxes low.”
Bhalla said during the presentation that he and the village will continue to work to keep taxes low in the coming years. In this budget, he said most utility and service rates have remained consistent, with one — solid waste disposal — increasing to help cover the cost of fuel.
He reminded residents that if their tax bill does increase this year, only half of the taxes are under Ashcroft’s control. The village also collects taxes for the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, School District 74, the BC Assessment Authority, and other entities which set their own rates.
“Your increase is equal to whatever council sets in the budget planning process, which this year is two-and-a-half percent,” Bhalla said. “Our assessment in the village has gone up approximately 15 per cent, so in turn our taxes will be adjusted down.”
Bhalla said that several major projects in Ashcroft are nearing completion, including the installation of a new hot tub, the replacement of lift station number one, and repairs to the Ashcroft fire hall. If all goes well, he said these projects should be completed by the summer.
As the village wraps up working on these projects, Bhalla said it is time to decide on what the next ones will be. To that end, he is inviting the community to submit ideas to council so they can be added to the village’s upcoming strategic planning meetings.
Mayor Barbara Roden said that council’s priorities will be set at these meetings for the next four to five years. Last time they held strategic meetings in 2019, Roden said they had 60 different potential projects and they would welcome more.
“In an ideal world, if we had $100-million fall into our laps, this list is what we’d all do,” Roden said. “The goal of strategic planning is to look at that list, see what’s left and has been added, and then decide our priorities.”
Thanks to a Community Development Grant, Bhalla said the Village has an additional $1 million to put towards projects, some of which could be the community’s choice.
“I invite anyone who is very keen on some areas in the village that should improve to please let council know what your priorities are and then it will come to a strategic planning meeting,” Bhalla said. “Staff tends to focus on boring things like water and sewer which nobody sees, but this is an opportunity to use these funds [in a visible way].”
Roden said she is excited to hear Bhalla talking about “fun stuff” the village could do with that grant money. She noted it could give them the flexibility to invest in parks and beautifying downtown Ashcroft.
Residents who attended the meeting asked council to consider planting more trees downtown to provide shade during the summer. They said it would attract more visitors downtown.
Roden agreed and said council is looking into installing misters downtown. Bhalla said that any trees or shrubs planted will have to be native and drought-resistant. It’s key for Ashcroft to maintain a balanced water consumption due to its desert-like environment.
Anyone with further project suggestions for council is asked to talk to a local member of council, call the village office at (250) 453-9161, or email admin@ashcroftbc.ca.
editorial@accjournal.ca
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