North Perth Mayor Todd Kasenberg says the municipality is nearly done getting its 2022 budget sorted out.
He says council will have their last budget meeting tonight before taking the numbers to a virtual public meeting, but he notes that staff and the budget committee are prepping for a 2.3 percent increase in taxation for this year.
"This is a remarkable achievement, actually, but part of the opportunity that's been presented is that the municipality has grown rapidly, so the addition of taxpayers has had an impact in keeping it to 2.3 percent. The actual increase in the cost of operations in North Perth is 6 percent growth, year over year, but because of growth in the municipality, we're only seeing that 2.3 percent in tax bills."
Mayor Kasenberg says the budget should be finalized by next month. He adds that with the pandemic forcing most things to be virtual, tools like the YourSayNorthPerth website have been invaluable in terms of getting direct input from citizens on many things, like the budget, without being able to physically gather.
"Part of my desire as mayor when I took the chair was to make sure we opened the windows and doors and hear from people in as many ways as possible, and I think we're achieving that."
It was also noted that a recent Stats Canada report showed that from the 2015 census to 2021, North Perth grew by 23 percent overall. Kasenberg adds that he feels the community at large alongside council has managed that growth responsibly, and that won't change for the remainder of this council term and going forward after this fall's municipal elections.