Assessment is only one of the factors that make up taxes
- Details
- Published on Friday, October 16, 2015
By Reeve Bob Adriaansen
RM of North Cypress-Langford
It has been a year since the municipal election and the amalgamation of the RM’s of North Cypress and Langford. Overall things are going pretty well.
We should feel very fortunate to have a strong farm, residential and business community. The municipality is subject to a tax grab by the Provincial government which has removed approximately $750,000 from our RM due to a cap on school tax credit for farm landowners. This affects not only our farmers but all the business owners in our municipality. These dollars are not going back into education specifically; as a percentage of the money is being dumped into the general revenue fund for the Province.
Property assessments have gone up at an unprecedented rate. Assessment is only one of the factors that make up your taxes and take money out of everyone’s pockets. Approximately 65 per cent of your total tax bill is so called “school tax”. This makes it very difficult for council to control your taxes through the mill rates.
Through amalgamation, there is a responsibility to make by-laws the same across the RM. Council has recently eliminated the business tax in the former RM of North Cypress which contributed approximately $37,000 in tax revenue. Rather than create a new tax across the new municipality, council wished to support the businesses that provide employment in our RM. This also aligns us with the Town of Carberry and surrounding municipalities.
As most people are aware, the RM has five Recreation Districts and a mill rate is set for each of these areas. There are committees for each district and their mandate to take the funds and distribute them in an appropriate manner. We have many community halls, rinks, parks and recreation areas in the RM. Council is very grateful for all of the recreation boards that work hard to make North Cypress-Langford a better place to live.
One of the most important and concerning items this year was rural development. Dealing with this issue was very time consuming and left us with difficult decisions to make. To stay progressive and grow our population, we need to support rural development and rural farm sites. We require continued growth and population maintenance to support our hospital, schools and businesses in the area.
Our relationship with the Town of Carberry is still working well. We have partnered in the remodelling of the Old Town Office which now will bring on a little more revenue to off load some expenses. I would like to thank Cheryl Orr-Hood for all her hard work in seeking out grants and the time she spent working with Councils on the project.
The RM Council would like to thank all the volunteers that are working on the various boards for their time and commitment. These committees require a lot of dedication and effort and council appreciates everything that is done. These members save council a lot of time and we greatly value what you bring to these groups.
We have many ongoing issues with the Town of Neepawa. The relationship is very valuable to RM council. Recreation, fire, medical and business opportunities are very important. Although we do not have the same agreements as with the Town of Carberry, these issues are just as crucial. We have to get value from our tax dollars and keep the RM a safe and great place to live.
Thank you very much to the office staff and our public works department. Looking back at the year, things are going pretty well. There are still some issues to be worked out, but over the next few years, council, the office staff and public works will continue to work hard to get the job done.
Please feel free to contact myself, or any council members with your comments, questions and concerns.
