People living and working in Bridgewater can let out a sigh of relief.
The 2017-18 budget approved last night will see residential taxes remain the same at $1.65 per $100 of assessment.
But Mayor David Mitchell says both homeowners and businesses will still be getting a little bit of a break.
“Two cents ofF the commercial rate, and two cents off the special purpose tax for the LCLC which applies to both residential and commercial. So, commercial entities are actually getting a four cent reduction in their taxes.”
Council changed the process of budget deliberations this year, starting earlier and holding half as many meetings.
Mitchell says it was a great change up.
“The infomation we were given was more streamlined. We weren’t going line by line ‘how many hammers are you buying, how many tires are you buying’ things like that. So, we took that and trusted our management teams with those items. So, we were just looking at a higher level, department by department.”
He says this enabled them to focus on the issues that residents told council they cared about during open consultations like this one:
Mayor Mitchell is at Bridgewater Mall from 2 to 4 today to talk about the draft budget. Stop on by! @CommonSenseNS pic.twitter.com/7D4QlfLELe
— Town of Bridgewater (@TownBridgewater) April 7, 2017
The budget, which comes in at around $25-million, includes almost $7-million in capital spending.
The big ticket items include a new fire truck, the skate park, and a major investment in a new playground for Bridgewater Elementary.
Some money has been set aside for the approved transit pilot but council is still waiting on the official estimate which is expected in the next few weeks.
