Ratepayers in the Rural Municipality of Hanover can expect to pay more in taxes this year.

Council for the RM of Hanover has given first reading to a budget worth $13.4 million. Chief Financial Officer Don Dowle says that is actually down slightly from last year because of less capital work scheduled for 2017. Last year's budget was just over $14 million.

Dowle says because the municipality chooses not to have taxpayers from one community pay for a project in another, the mill rate is different throughout Hanover. If approved, an average ratepayer in Mitchell with a home assessed at $250,000 will see no change in their taxes this year. It is about $12 in Blumenort, $22 in Grunthal, $63 in Kleefeld, $64 in New Bothwell and $66 for those living in the rural area.

"The big driver of cost for that particular mill rate are rural road maintenance services," reports Dowle. "Council gave us clear direction this year that they wanted to see additional resources put into rural road maintenance."

"Our roads have not been greatest of shape, especially last year," says Reeve Stan Toews. "We did add a lot of dollars last year and we're again adding more this year, trying to get on top of it so that we have good roads for our ratepayers."

The municipality hopes to spend an additional 10 percent or $292,000 on rural road maintenance in 2017. Of that, $160,000 is for additional gravel on roads.

Other highlights of Budget 2017 include an additional 1.3 percent or $9,000 for recreation, an additional 2.4 percent or $22,000 for protective services, a zero percent increase for general administrative, an 11 percent or $10,000 increase for economic development and an additional 6 percent or $45,000 in reserve levies.

Not one ratepayer showed up to Wednesday's financial plan hearing. Toews says that sends a message that council is doing things right. He notes their plan will now be sent to the province for approval.