Wabana taxpayers will see relief in 2024 after council lowers rates, slashes expenditures
Some creative belt-tightening and a renewed emphasis on revenue generation has allowed the Wabana town council to buck the trend for 2024, with property and business owners in the Bell Island municipality expected to see some relief on their tax bills.
Town leaders have unanimously adopted a new $2.5 million budget — nearly $90,000 less than last year's financial blueprint — that included a drop in the residential property mill rate from 9.25 to 7.5.
Most other municipalities have either held the line on the mill rate, which will still mean a tax increase for homeowners because assessed property values have generally increased, or, like the city of St. John's, increased the mill rate by nearly a full point to 9.1.
The mill rate is used in combination with the assessed value of a property to determine the amount of taxes owing.
In Wabana, assessed values increased by 10 per cent, so the tax bill for a home now valued at $165,000 will be $150 lower in 2024, according to town manager Jordan Blackwood.
Roughly 800 of the 1,200 homes in Wabana do not qualify for the mill rate formula because the assessed value is below $108,000, so they are charged a minimum property tax fee. That fee has also dropped by $45, from $855 to $810.
Jordan Blackwood is manager for the Town of Wabana. (Terry Roberts/CBC)
The commercial mill rate has also been trimmed by one point.
"We recognise these are really challenging times for a lot of people right now. We had to have some strong financial leadership, and we did," said Blackwood.
Unless the assessed value of a home increased by 23 per cent, added Blackwood, the owner will get a tax break.
"Anyone can get a discount from $75 to $500, depending on where you are in your assessed value of your property. I mean taxes are supposed to be fair and we feel like we done just that," he said.
Like all municipalities, Wabana is challenged with increasing costs, driven largely by inflation. But the town has aggressively lowered its expenses by eliminating two jobs through attrition, and scrutinizing every other line item — from fuel to overtime — on the expense side of the ledger.
At the same time, the town is heavily marketing the Monsignor Bartlett Memorial Arena to users outside of Bell Island. And with ice time in the St. John's area in high demand, that strategy is paying off. The town is still subsidizing the arena, but revenues are at their highest in six years, said Blackwood.
Meanwhile, services are not being reduced, said Blackwood. In fact, the town is committed to investing in projects such as water system upgrades, economic development and a splash pad.
"We're not robbing Peter to pay Paul. We're just being smarter financially," said the town manager.
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