REVIEW East Central Alberta
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Targeting East Central Alberta
Volume 102 No. 23
Your favourite source for news and entertainment in East Central Alberta, reaching 83 communities weekly
www.ECAreview.com
CASTOR TOWN COUNCIL
Castor residents will see increase on 2013 tax bill Bethany Zacharias
ECA Review Journalist The 2013 mill rates for the Town of Castor have gone up. The municipal residential and commercial tax for Castor only went up by one per cent in 2013. Council said they received a significant increase in the Paintearth Lodge requisition and the school requisitions in 2013. This has resulted in the Paintearth Lodge tax to go up a hefty 37.30 per cent and the residential and commercial school tax to go up 20 per cent. “Taxpayers would have likely not noticed an increase in their taxes this year,” said Sandi Jackson, CAO of the Town of Castor. “But with the combined Paintearth Lodge and school tax increase, people will notice a change.” Taxpayers will likely only see a big
difference on their tax bill if their property assessment went up or down in 2013. The Town of Castor does not set the rates for either the Paintearth Lodge or school requisitions.
Capital Projects In 2013 the Town of Castor will work with a conservative budget of $300,976,286. Money from this budget will go to several capital projects. The town plans to move several water pumps to the water reservoir located off of Highway 12. The current building the water pumps are in is crumbling and isn’t fit to house the pumps any longer. Several sidewalks are set to be replaced in 2013. The town has also teamed up with Canada Post to clean up the area surrounding the post office.
HANNA TOWN COUNCIL
Tax increase for Hanna Bethany Zacharias
ECA Review Journalist
Abbigail Heidecker accepts a D.A.R.E. certificate from Constable Paul Surette on May 16 at Coronation School. Grades one to five sat and watched as Abbigail delivered a pledge statement and speech on what she learned from the D.A.R.E. program. Each student from Coronation School’s grade six class were presented with a D.A.R.E certificate. The D.A.R.E. program teaches youth about peer pressure, making the right decisions and the negative health effects of using drugs, cigarettes and alcohol. ECA REVIEW/B. Zacharias
Council met May 14 to discuss the Operating and Capital Budget. CAO Kim Neill revealed the town had to use $198,311 from reserves to balance the 2013 budget. “We’re hoping we won’t need to use all funds from the reserve,” said Neill. “If revenues are higher than anticipated, like they were in 2012, then we won’t need all the money from reserves.” In 2012 council did not need to bring in any money from reserves. A fair portion of tax revenue brought in in 2013 is due to new assessments. This means revenue is being brought in off of new development, rather than from taxing the same people for the same property.
INDEX
Clearview Coronation council .........................3 Dining & Agriculture ..................................6 - 7 Public Obituary .............................................8 Entertainment Schools Alliance news ...................................9 Guide tweaks Real Estate/Homes .................. 9 - 11 Sports ................................................12 the budget Sports ................................................12 Page 2 Classifieds/Career..................13 - 16 Page 3 Crossword Puzzle.......................... 14
FLYERS
OPINION: Come clean and change
Getting you connected
Lowes Full House IGA Food Town
Page 4
Mayor Nikota says this is a sign of growth for the town. “This is a good sign of things to come in town,” said Nikota. Council also discussed potentially spending $60,000 for a 6 - 8 week infrastructure study conducted by MPE Engineering. The study would provide a thorough and in depth look at what needs to be fixed in town-- essentially it would give council a road map for the future. “We want to spend our money in the best place,” said Nikota. “There is no point in fixing anything on the surface if we don’t know what’s underneath.” Residents of the Town of Hanna will only notice a difference on their tax bill if their property assessment went up or down this year.
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