AS - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, March 12, 1997

COUNCIL RAIDS SURPLUS

City to collect hig

THE AVERAGE taxpayer
will be bit with at least a
small tax hike to support
city hall this year.

City conncil has set its
residential tax rate for 1997
at $45.99 per $1,000 assessed
value, down from $6.22 per
thousand in 1996,

Homeowners whose as-
sessments went up by less
than 3.75 per cent should
see a drop in taxes.

But homeowners whose
assessments climbed by four
per cent or more will pay
more this year.

And that’s most people.
B.C. Assessment officials
have said the assessment of
most Terrace residential
properties have increased
between five and 15 per
cent since last year. Acreage
properties saw their assess-
nents hike on the order of
40 per cent.

Businesses will also take a
hit. The rate for businesses
will be $22.50 per thousand
assessed value — almost the
same as last year — mean-
ing the cily will let in-
creased assessinents genera-
fe an extra $372,000 this
year.

The effect is that any busi-
ness with an assessment in-
crease of more than one per
cent will see a tax increase.

The new rates are a com-
promise city council agreed
to after debating how much

money should be raised
from taxpayers.
Councillor Tim Down

_ watited to reduce tax rates
further, particularly to busi-
ness, to ensure most tax-
payers don’t pay more this

year,

“Tl think we are hitting the
business community too
hard,” Down said.

Councillors Linda Hawes
aud Ron Vanderlee, bow-
ever, wanted to keep the
rates at last year’s level and
allow increased assessments .
to generate more tax money.
That would have meant
taxes would rise by the
amount of the property
owner's assessment in-
crease, : i im ys

Both were concerned after
hearing a report from city
treasurer Keith Norman that
the city’s accumulated sur-
plus is being drawn down
too quickly.

The budget being adopted
by council plans to take
$700,000 out of the city’s
surplus, reducing the emer-
gency fund from it’s present
level of $1.34 million down
to $635,000 by year’s end.

The surplus account hasn’t
fallen below $1 million in
four years and cily staff start
to get agitated when it
reaches the level proposed.

“That is not an ongoing
source of revenue,”’
Norman told council. ‘You

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can’t keep drawing
$700,000. It’s not a botlom-
less pit.”’

Hawes and Vanderlee said
they’d prefer io keep tax
rates al their present levels,
rather than drop them now,
greatly deplete the surplus
and then be forced to raise
rates dramatically later.

A compromise between
the two positions, giving a

slight drop in tax rates, was
proposed by councillor
David Hull and backed by
Rich McDaniel. The
proposal pot the support of
the other councillors. ;

Hull noted that the cily is
planning to spend $2 million
on capilal projects this year.

If bard times return, he
said, thal could be dramati-
cally reduced.

her taxes

He also noted that council
has frequently planned to
draw the city surplus down
towards the $600,000 level,
but money often goes u-
spent, and the year usually
ends with a mucp larger
amount tucked away.

Local taxpayers: | won't
know the final property tax
bite until the school board
finalizes its budget.,

A MOOSE was killed instantly last week when it was hit by a pickup on the
5100 block of Keith. No people were hurt, but the pickup was badly damaged.

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