TISDALE — Tisdale council passed their 2022 budget with no property tax increase or increase to water and sewer utility rates.
Coun. Brendan Samida said this year’s budget focuses on maintaining equipment instead of capital purchases.
“I think previous councils have been fiscally responsible,” Samida said. “Our community as a whole is well maintained, there’s nothing left. We’ve had high dollars put into our sewage system, we fulfilled a lot of our big ticket items over the previous years and we just felt with everything going on, with everything increasing we felt it wasn’t the time.”
Brad Hvidston, Tisdale’s administrator, said the lack of an increase was in part to the complete payment of the water treatment plant loan the town had for 15 years.
Another factor he attributed to the lack of an increase was new commercial tax revenue, where local retailers that had fallen under being covered by previous tax incentive programs are now up for taxation.
The 2022 budget includes $572,800 in new paving, $166,000 in water line replacement, $235,000 for new residential lot development, $795,000 in debt reduction with no new borrowing, and $1.2 million in new capital equipment including a new excavator, Zamboni, skid steer, mower, grader, columbarium and others.
Some of the budget impacts noted by the town included increasing fuel, power, energy and other prices resulting in higher than normal inflation.
