Air Ronge villaghe council with appointed Elder Tom Roberts. (Julie Baschuk/Facebook)

By Derek Cornet

2024 budget

Base tax, water and sewer costs rise in Air Ronge

Jul 17, 2024 | 2:32 PM

The Village of Air Ronge is expecting a small surplus of $34,700 following the release of its 2024 budget.

In total, the budget will hit $3,682,400, with $3,085,000 going towards operations and $597,400 pegged for capital costs. The highest cost for operations is $1,108,100 for professional contract services, followed by $624,000 for wages and benefits, and $571,390 for maintenance, materials and supplies.

Amortization will take up another $518,400, grants and contributions will take $138,440, and utilities $119,600.

As for capital expenses, transportation is the most costly with $116,600 going towards the removal and replacement of a culvert at Wood Creek, $96,000 for a new skid steer and a grader snow gate, and $70,000 for new shop planning and engineering.

General government will spend $174,860 with $70,000 for closed-circuit television cameras, an item which village council has unsuccessfully been able to implement for more than two years. Another $12,600 will be spent on computer upgrades, followed by $72,260 for building improvements such as office upgrades. An additional $20,000 will go towards tables, shelving units, desks and chairs.

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As part of capital expenses, $140,000 will go towards the replacement of three hydrants, as well as a metering vault.

There has been no changes to the mill rates, but base taxes will be going up. The base tax will increase $50 per residential and commercial property.

“This is municipal tax only, not school,” a public release about the budget states. “Increase to the base tax designated to the long-term care facility.”

There will be upcoming changes when it comes to water and sewer services. The village will be moving towards a user pay system. Currently, water and sewer fees only cover 56 per cent of the cost to operate the systems.

“This means over $300,000 of the tax dollars collected have been subsidizing the utilities,” the release notes. “To move towards a user pay system, fees will be increasing over the next four years to make this happen. This increase is approximately $25 per single household per quarter or $8.33 per month.”

Sewage from the village ends up in the regional lagoon system, which is in need of some upgrades estimated at over $30 million. Even though the village’s share is only a portion of this cost, a system on how to pay for the upgrade is needed.

“Starting September 2024, an infrastructure levy in the amount of $26 will be added to each utility account on each quarterly utility billing for the next five years to help cover the cost of our share of this project.”

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com