Council for the Rural Municipality of Hanover is looking to establish a special levy for fire protection services.

Reeve Stan Toews says if approved, what this would do is create a separate line on a tax bill. He says for a homeowner, it doesn't add to their taxes. But there would be a change for exempt properties. Properties classified as exempt, including schools, Churches and municipal buildings are currently not paying for these services.

"The decision to go this route, it does add a little more dollars to the coffers," notes Toews. "Because schools and Churches they also need the same service as ratepayers and it spreads the cost over a little larger assessment."

That means, a school assessed at about $5.5 million could expect to pay about $3,600 in additional taxes. A Church assessed at $1 million that is currently paying no municipal taxes could expect to pay $700 under this new levy. If approved, this levy is expected to bring in more than $20,000 in additional revenue next year.

A house assessed at $250,000 will pay about $125 for fire services next year. The average homeowner may end up paying a bit less in total because the same amount of budget requirement would be spread over a few more properties.

Toews says the matter has been sent to the Municipal Board for a decision. He notes a similar levy is being used in the Rural Municipality of Morris.