EVANSVILLE—Citing the increase in fixed external costs, the township of Burpee and Mills has no control over, a loss of tax base due to provincially mandated programs, legal fees having gone up, and the loss of revenue due to a shrinking tax base as more township property is converted to conservation area, Burpee and Mills council recently passed its budget for this year which will see a significant increase to taxpayers.
“We are looking at a six percent tax increase,” said Ken Noland, reeve of Burpee and Mills. “The tax bills are going out to township taxpayers with a six percent increase in taxes for this year. The increase is due in part to the loss in our tax base on provincially mandated programs like managed forest and farmland program, an increase in legal costs and in losses of taxes from properties purchased by the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) and Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy, which both receive tax exempt status. This all results in a loss of taxes over $200,000 every year and represents over one-fifth of our revenues.”
“I would like to know what the city of Toronto would say if they were in the same situation and if they lost one-fifth of their tax revenues,” continued Reeve Noland. “And we are continuing to lose land purchased by NCC.”
“I don’t know why municipalities like ours continue to be hurt by tax exemptions being granted on these properties when conservancy land benefits all of Ontario and Canada,” said Reeve Noland.
There has also been an increase in the township’s fixed expenditures such as policing, health, DSB, and others that go up every year, added Reeve Noland.
