Council for the Rural Municipality of Ritchot now has a budget to work with.

Mayor Chris Ewen says they have approved their 2018 financial plan, which calls for the mill rate to go up by about .003 mills.

(RM of Ritchot council)Ewen notes the result is something his Chief Administrative Officer says he has never seen before. There are about 1,700 homes in Ritchot that will see a slight increase in taxes and about 1,700 homes that will see their taxes go down a bit.

Because it was an assessment year, Ewen says for someone whose home went up from $190,000 to $200,000, they will probably see their taxes go up by about $70. On the flip side, a home that dropped in assessment from $175,000 to $170,000, they might see their taxes go down by about $34.

Ewen says he is disappointed that council had to nix one of its projects scheduled for this year. He notes the plan was to spend $400,000 towards their Main Street revitalization project in Ile des Chenes. However, Ewen says the work is contingent on the province contributing $800,000. The province has now deferred the project and Ewen says the $400,000 has been removed from this year's budget.

According to Ewen, there isn't a feeling that council needs to hold the line on taxes. He says because Ritchot is a fast growing municipality, it generates a lot of tax dollars. Ewen says anyone who had concerns with this budget could have spoken out at their financial plan hearing.