The Township of Minden Hills has approved its 2024 budget, supported by a 5.87 per cent tax increase.
It means paying an extra $52 a year for a home assessed at $209,000, the average value of a single-family home in the township. The increase comes after months of council discussions, which brought the rate down from the 7.81 per cent hike proposed in January.
“That’s better than where we started from,” said Minden Mayor Bob Carter at the March 26 council meeting. “Not going to suggest that we won’t have tough years ahead, but this is a reasonable increase compared to what’s going on all around us.”
The operating budget is set at around $11.04-million, for costs such as maintenance and services, while the roughly $3.8-million capital budget is used to purchase new assets and replace old.
Notable spends include $1.8-million on road infrastructure, $1.4-million for the Scotch Line Waste Transfer Station. The township has also allocated funds to reopen the public washrooms at the Old Fire Hall and other facility investments.