Quispamsis residents will see their property tax rates go down more than expected in the new year.

On Tuesday, town council put its final stamp of approval on the $31-million operating budget for 2023.

It includes a nearly 3.9-cent reduction to the residential tax rate, which will drop to $1.277 per $100 of assessed value.

During budget deliberations in late October, town staff suggested lowering the tax rate by 3.14 cents to $1.2849.

That was assuming the non-residential rate, as recommended by staff, would be 1.7 times higher than the residential rate.

Until now, the non-residential rate was automatically set at 1.5 times the residential rate, but legislation passed earlier this year now allows municipalities to set the rate between 1.4 and 1.7.

Council voted in October to set the non-residential multiplier at 1.55 but voted this week to follow staff’s initial recommendation of 1.7.

That will result in an extra $164,000 in revenue, which council decided to use to lower the overall tax rate to $1.2777.

Town staff noted that the overall non-residential tax rate will still drop since the province is lowering its portion of taxes.

Deputy Mayor Mary Schryer voted against increasing the non-residential multiplier to 1.7, noting the difficulties the business community has faced in recent years.

Council also approved the town’s $5.7-million capital budget for next year, which is down from the more than $9 million included in this year’s budget.

The proposed budget includes more than $2.3 million for street capital and $339,000 for work at the qplex, including $200,000 to replace the Zamboni.

There is also $130,000 budgeted to install splash pad equipment at Firefly Park, $120,000 for a washroom building at the new Millennium Cycle Bike Park, and $50,000 for active transportation and trail construction.