When it came to giving the third and final reading to the La Broquerie tax bylaw during Wednesdays’ regular meeting of Council there was hesitation from the reeve.
Lewis Weiss cited two “controversial expenses” on their budget as his reasons for not jumping to approve. Namely, the purchase of the La Vérendrye Golf Course property and the construction of the new fire hall: expenditures valued at $900,000 and $1,255,000, respectively.
Read more: La Broquerie Fire Chief Implores Council To Relocate Fire Hall
Chief Administrative Officer Anne Burns explained to Weiss that each item within the budget over $5,000 would require its own resolution to pass and was not set in stone with the approval of the tax bylaw. Still, the reeve was not done. With COVID-19 endangering La Broquerie employment rates and the local economy, Weiss suggested a move that would drop the mill rate, taking some of the load off of taxpayers’ backs.
“I was thinking we could use the Lagoon Reserve to make the loan payments on two separate loans for the lagoon that we have to make instead of taking them out of general taxes,” offers Weiss. “If we did that, the mill rate could drop a little bit to try and make it easier on the people.”
La Broquerie’s Lagoon Reserve has around $634,000 in it right now and Weiss felt that some of that could be used to reduce the levy residents would be required to pay.
Well-intentioned as he was, Burns explains that the proposed move was not possible as general municipal payments cannot be made out of reserves. According to the RMs bylaw, the Lagoon Reserve can only be used for purchases relating directly to the lagoon or the acquisition of land.
“Debenture bylaws are approved by the Municipal Board and cannot be altered without the Municipal Board’s approval,” she states. Furthermore, Burns indicates that a reallocation of that magnitude would rattle their entire budget for the coming fiscal year and would make them unable to follow through on their intended land purchase.
Read more: La Broquerie Councillors Split Over Future Of Golf Course
Weiss shrugs off his mistake as a gap in his knowledge.
“If I knew the bylaw ins and outs word for word, I’d be sharing a lot less,” he states, “I wouldn’t bring forth things that are not allowed because I would already know the answer.”
With all queries clarified, Weiss himself moved to approve the tax bylaw. The approval was unanimous.
The mill rate for 2020-2021 will be roughly four-tenths of a mill less than last year.
Sun, May 5, 2:24 PM
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