City council voted Monday night to keep the city's 2021 tax requisition the same as last year.
By a 6-3 vote, council approved using more than $3 million of its $6.1 million Safe Restart Fund grant to offset a proposed two per cent tax increase for the year. Coun. Kyle Sampson, who proposed the motion, said the feedback from the public has been clear – residents don't want a tax increase this year.
"There are people who are really struggling," Sampson said. "It's about buying some time and giving businesses and residents a break."
However, Sampson said, he fully understands that using one-time funding to offset operating costs means council will face tough choices next year to keep the tax increase manageable.
"This is a one-time fix," he said.
The move leaves roughly half the Safe Restart grant remaining to manage other costs associated with the pandemic, he added.
Sampson's sentiments were echoed by Mayor Lyn Hall and councillors Brian Skakun, Terri McConnachie, Frank Everett and Murry Krause.
McConnachie called the decision a "no-brainer."
"We're in the middle of a global pandemic and we need a break," she said.
While each percentage point increase might have only made a roughly $25 difference to a typical home owner, it will provide more relief for the city's businesses and industries, Skakun said.
Those businesses and industries are the city's major employers, Everett added.
Coun. Cori Ramsay proposed a compromise, which would have seen a one per cent tax levy increase. Her motion was supported by councillors Garth Frizzell and Susan Scott.
Her proposal would have seen the city use roughly $2 million of the Safe Restart grant, keeping roughly $4 million as "a safety net" for the future.
"There is no right answer," she said. "If we go with zero per cent this year, it's going to be tacked on next year. To me, it feels unfair to burden taxpayers with a five per cent increase next year."
It could take several years for the city's revenues to return to normal and without that safety net council could be faced with choosing between significant tax hikes or significant service cuts over the next two years, Ramsay said.
"It's been a hard year for everyone," she said. "(But) we don't have to get to zero this year."
Using up half of the city's Safe Restart money does nothing but "kick those increases down the road," Frizzell said.
"Those percentages don't go away," he said. "We approved the budget will go up 2.7 per cent. Now we're trying to make budget using one-time money. If we wanted to cut back 2.7 per cent, we had our chance. We're going to have rainier days ahead."
Council also voted against a proposal to hire two training officers for the city's RCMP detachment, which would have added roughly $96,000 to the budget in 2021 and $365,000 in 2022 and beyond.
"At the right time, it would be the right thing to do," Krause said. "But right now, it's no."
