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Amherst Town Council Approves 2024-2025 Operating Budget, Including Initial Funding for a New Community Centre

April 25, 2024

At its regular meeting on Monday night, Amherst Town Council approved this fiscal year’s tax rates as well as the 2024-2025 general and water utility operating budgets.

The general operating budget was set at slightly over $22 million, and the water utility’s operating budget was set at just over $2.6 million. The overall tax rate remains the same as the previous year.

“Our Town staff has worked very hard over the last few months to produce our 2024/25 operational budget – as they do every year,” said Mayor David Kogon. “We are so pleased to be able to present a balanced budget that enables us to enhance our service capacity to citizens as well as make meaningful contributions towards our strategic priorities to enhance the town going forward, without raising the tax rates.”

Contained within the general operating budget are the following individual budget lines:

This will be the third year in a row that Council will not increase the overall tax rates, which remain at $1.67/$100 of assessment for Residential, and $4.47/$100 of assessment for Commercial.

Where applicable, Council’s strategic priorities for 2024/25 have been assigned necessary funds within the general operating budget:

Community Centre
Two cents on the tax rate, raising $133,000, has been included in the budget for the potential development of a new community centre. This $133,000 will be put in reserves every year until a new community centre is constructed. While having these funds in reserves will help offset the initial capital cost of the new facility, more importantly, including this amount in the annual budget will help offset the eventual financial impact the new facility will have on future budgets. The Town expects to increase this allotment in next year’s budget without impacting the overall tax rates once again.

Housing
More than $1,000,000 has been allocated in the capital budget for housing-related infrastructure. These funds will allow for renewed and extended streets and associated municipal infrastructure that will directly facilitate new housing development within the Town.

Mobility Strategy
More than $100,000 has been allocated in the capital budget for new sidewalks and trails to enhance connectivity, accessibility and active transportation within Town.

In the Operations Department, budgeted expenses will increase by $140,436, with more than half of that amount ($76,400) being dedicated to increased asphalt patching. This is in addition to last year’s increase of more than $100,000 for asphalt patching.

While sewer rates remain the same as the previous year, water rates have increased based on the water rate study and the NSUARB Board Order, which was approved on March 29, 2022. The estimated impact to a residential homeowner for the increase in water rates and base charges for 2024/25 is approximately $2.84 per quarterly bill, or $11.36 for the year.

Due to the annual increase in the solid waste contract, as well as the increase in tonnage and rates for tipping fees, the uniform charge for solid waste management will be increased by an amount of $10 per dwelling unit, to $278 per year.

Operational budget numbers have slightly increased in the police and fire departments.  These increases are a result of inflationary pressures in all aspects of our operations. 

Communications & IT received increases in operational budgeting to cover the purchase of $12,500 in computer hardware to ensure emergency replacement devices are available. Another budget item contained within this category is election expenses. With the municipal election scheduled for this October, an amount of $35,750 has been allocated here.

Within the Community Living Department, an additional $18,171 has been allocated for community support initiatives including additional funding to the YMCA and grants to organizations. Overall, the Town is allocating over $638,000 in community supports by way of grants to organizations, social equity projects, youth free ice, festivals and events, and low-income property tax exemptions. 

As Council decided to utilize previous years’ surplus to pay off the outstanding debt in relation to the past renovations of the Amherst Stadium, the Recreation Facilities budget has decreased by $610,178 for 2024/25.

Planning and Economic Development received an additional amount of approximately $40,000 for increased digital marketing initiatives and for additional costs associated with increased development activity within Town.

The Town’s recently installed solar power installations at the stadium, water reservoir and waste water treatment facility are expected to generate about $65,000 in revenue this year.

Amherst’s general capital budget and the Water Utility capital budget were both approved earlier this year, in March.