Sturgeon County residents should expect to pay more taxes starting next year.
The county council approved a more than $76 million multi-year budget on Tuesday (Dec. 13) that included a 3.9 per cent tax rate increase.
Mayor Alanna Hnatiw says the tax hike was caused by factors largely out of their control.
"This year, we faced several budget challenges that meant supporting our current service levels required a tax increase," said Hnatiw. "[With the] increase in fuel costs, increase in the inflation for wages, the 3.9 [per cent rise] is what we landed on."
High inflation, continued downloading of costs from the province for policing, and uncertainty around grant funding was also mentioned as inciting factors.
The initial raise when budget deliberations began sat at a hefty 6.5 per cent before work was done to lower it to, a still significant, 3.9 per cent.
Residents will feel the effect of this increase.
"A property assessed at $492,000 will mean a $72 per year increase and if you got a business valued at over $750,000, they're going to see an increase of approximately $308 per year," said Hnatiw. "There will be an annual utility cost increase of about $44 which equals to 85 cents a week."
Hnatiw encourages people to reach out if they want to know more about the full budget.
"We appreciate folks reaching out if they need to understand where the dollars are going," said Hnatiw.
For more information on the budget for the county, click here.