Residential and commercial tax rates in the Municipality of the District of Guysborough will rise
District of Guysborough Warden Vernon Pitts
by $0.06 in the coming year. At Wednesday afternoon’s regular council meeting, the 2021-2022 budget was passed with residential rates set at $0.77 per $100 of assessment for residential and resource properties and $2.74 per $100 of assessment for commercial properties.
Warden Vernon Pitts says the increase in the tax rate is not significant.
Once again tax rates for District 8, the former Town of Canso, differ from all other districts in the municipality with a residential tax rate set at $1.5126 per $100 of assessment and commercial rates set at $1.347 per $100 of assessment.
Councillors Finn Armsworthy of District 8 and Dave Hanhams of District 4 voted against the striking of the tax rate.
Dissent was also heard when council voted on a recommendation from the committee of the whole to keep an operating reserve of $550,000 for the Chedabucto Lifestyle Centre (CLC). Councillors Dave Hanhams of District 4; Rickey McLaren from District 7 and Finn Armsworthy of District 8 voted against that motion.
Warden Pitts explained after the council adjourned that those funds were rebates, from the federal and provincial governments, that arose after completion of the project. Pitts says “That was money that was allocated for the CLC and should remain as such.”
Pitts added that while that money is in reserve for the CLC, council has “the power to spend that money on anything they see fit to spend it on.”