Council for the Town of Ste. Anne has crunched the numbers and they are holding the line on taxes this year.

Mayor Richard Pelletier says that is largely due to the rapid growth in town within the last few years. 

Last year alone, Operations Manager John Desrochers reports there were 21 single-family housing starts, 19 multi-family and 4 commercial permits. Total permit value in 2018 was over $20.4 million. 

"Definitely, that is the big contributor," says Mayor Pelletier. "We have again this summer coming up, even more building and more people moving in."

The proposed $4.5 million dollar budget includes capital funds for sidewalk work on Centrale Avenue North from Arena Road to Traverse Road as well a new sidewalk connection from the Seine River Crossing development to Centrale. 

Pelletier says Manitoba Infrastructure has informed them that they will be completing road and intersection improvements on Centrale Avenue later this spring.

"There’s still some work on the main street to do," he adds, "on Traverse, where the bridge is when you come into town, there’s some work to do and that’s at the beginning of the summer as soon as the weather cooperates, the government is going to help us do those two projects."

Another big-ticket item in the budget is the initial stages of a lagoon expansion. Chief Administrative Officer Marc Darker says they are working to secure funding from the provincial and federal governments for the project that has a projected value of approximately $13 million. That would include the construction of a new cell along with the desludging of their existing cells. 

Pelletier says they hope to start construction this fall with hopes of finishing the project in the next two years. 

The 2019 financial plan public hearing is scheduled for April 17 at 7pm at the Club Jovial in Ste. Anne.