Taxes are not going up in the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg.
Council passed their budget yesterday and residential taxes will stay at $0.81 per $100 assessment and $1.957 for commercial.
Mayor Carolyn Bolivar-Getson says economic development plays a key part in this budget, which is why internet features so heavily in it.
“If we want people to live in rural Nova Scotia we need to provide a quality of life to meet our residents needs,” says Bolivar-Getson. “People are not going to buy homes and open up businesses if there are inadequate services.”
MODL budgeted $250,000 for the Connect to Innovate Internet Project should they receive federal government approval.
Another $250,000 will go to developing a High-Speed Internet Strategy that will look at a possible long term global solution as well as short term projects similar to Sweetland.
The 2018-19 operating budget amounts to nearly $30 million.
The budget address focused on four issues – building local economy, investing in community, making life affordable and protecting environment.
At the top of investing in community was MODL’s plans to deal with ticks and Lyme disease.
Bolivar-Getson says they don’t like highlighting that they have one of the highest rates of Lyme disease in the province but it’s an issue council needs to tackle for their citizens.
“We’re working with Nova Scotia Public Health on the education campaign and I’m confident the Nova Scotia government will come on as a partner in this initiative as well.”
They’ll spend $100,000 over the next three years on the plan, including setting up bait stations for deer and holding awareness campaigns.
Bait stations attract deer to a canister with food in it. When the deer sticks its head in to eat, it gets wiped down with a solution that kills ticks.
School remediation
Some of this year’s budget is going to demolition and remediation of two schools.
MODL has also set aside just North of $800,000 to deal with two schools that were reverted back to them by the province.
When the province deems a school surplus, it’s given back to the municipality it’s in.
That means the municipality is stuck footing the bill for either mantaining it or knocking it down.
Bolivar-Getson says the money will be used to demolish the former Riverport and Centre schools.
“So when they’re no longer used by the centres of education, they’re turned back to the municipalities, and they have not shown to be an asset to us in anyway.”
Bolivar Getson says the schools will end up costing the municipality millions of dollars.
Riverport and District Elementary School closed in 2011 and Centre Consolidated followed in 2012.
Story by Brittany Wentzell
@BrittWentzell
