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Thursday, January 10, 2019
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“Where the difference is worth the drive” “Where the difference is worth the drive”
Battleford may see 2% tax increase
Pinty’s Grand Slam Back in North Battleford
Notable capital projects include lagoon, old church By Josh Greschner Staff Reporter
The Pinty’s Grand Slam has rolled back into North Battleford for six days of curling at the Civic Centre. The Meridian Canadian Open began Tuesday night with five games, all on the men’s side. The rest of the week promises to showcase 32 of the best men’s and women’s curling teams in the world. We will provide daily updates at www.newsoptimist.ca and on Twitter. See more on Page 14. Photos by Averil Hall
Sports North Stars lose two Page 15
News Better Together gathers Page 3
Feature
Everybody has a Story: Tim Popp Page 10
A fan comes decked out in colour to the Pinty’s Tuesday evening. See more photos by Averil Hall on our wesite at www.newsoptimist.ca.
Town administration presented a summary of a proposed budget on Monday, calling for a tax increase in 2019. At their next meeting Jan. 21, council could approve the 2019 budget, approve it in part, or not approve it at all. Administration proposed revenue from property taxes to increase two per cent, while revenue from utility fees is proposed to increase by $116,000 for the town, or close to 7.7 per cent versus last year. “An increase is needed because services and the cost of doing business increases every year,” Mayor Ames Leslie said. “Two per cent is a very modest increase considering what we’re seeing increase across the province.” Leslie added there hasn’t been an adjustment to utilities rates since 2012. Such proposed revenue increases would bring in an extra $92,000 for the town compared with last
• Proposed utility rate increases could cost the average user $6 more per month to bring in an additional $116,000. year. Total revenue would come to about $7,500,000. At Monday’s meeting, Director of Finance David Gillan outlined some increasing expenses and planned capital projects. Not including capital projects, town expenses are estimated to be nearly $6,000,000, an increase in 2019 by about $200,000. Some increased expenses are due to a finance supervisor position, increased councillors’ travel budgets, legal budgets, insurance and an increasing RCMP contract. The RCMP contract usually increases as population increases, Gillan said. More details about expenses will be available when the town releases the full proposed budget document. Continued on Page 2
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