Residents and business owners in the Municipality of the County of Antigonish will see a reduction in their residential and commercial tax rates.
During a meeting on Wednesday night, the municipality of the County of Antigonish set its residential tax rate at $.85 per $100 of assessment and the commercial tax rate now sits at $1.43 per $100 of assessment. This marks a three cent drop in the residential rates and a one cent drop in the commercial rates.
County Warden Owen McCarron said the residential rate held tight at $.88 for the last 13 years. After looking at the area’s moderate growth over the last number of years, he said council decided to reduce the rates.
The operating budget this year is about $21.3 million. McCarron noted in 2008, the operating budget for the county was $6.7 million. He called this a significant growth in a community of this size.
As for bigger ticket items in the operating budget, McCarron said mandatory education and policing costs take up large parts of the budget. He also noted they have a very active recreation department, adding they are also looking at things like curb and gutter at Keating Court, and the completion of a water tower in St. Joseph’s.