Residents of Quispamsis won’t see an increased property tax rate in 2026.
Town council approved a budget for next year that will see the rate remain at $1.2599 per $100 of assessed value.
The change was made following discussion among councillors who wanted to keep the rate stable.
Initially the proposed budget included a 2.18-cent increase on the tax rate. The increase was deemed necessary by staff to cover increases in operational expenses next year.
Chief administrative officer Ian Watson presented two options that would allow the rate to remain stable.
“Both options ensure that roads and streets remain priority items with over $12 million allocated for road and street infrastructure for 2026,” Watson said. “And both options continue to allow for 2026 investments into other services and amenities that our residents expect and deserve.”
The original recommendation included $39.3 million in operations expenses, $20.4 million in capital expenses and the tax rate increasing 2.18 cents.
The first option, which was ultimately approved by council, cut operational spending by more than $600,000.
“Essentially what this option does is moves less into the general capital reserve in order to maintain the tax rate,” Watson said.
Specifically, the contribution to capital reserve would have been just over $2 million in the initial proposal. With the reduction, the amount dropped to about $1.4 million.
Watson said this option would slow building of a general capital reserve.
“We do expect that that will increase our need to borrow in future years,” he said.
The second option reduced operations costs by the same as the first, but also cut $113,000 from capital expenses. That meant the reduction in contribution to the capital reserve wasn’t as significant.
There were questions from councillors about what specifically would be cut from the capital budget, but Watson said council could entrust staff to look for and find the $113,000.
Watson added that if council wanted a specific idea, his recommendation was to reduce funds for a proposed council chamber renovation by that amount.
“But I would prefer for staff to have the flexibility to manoeuvre within the allocated budget with that reduction in mind,” he said.
Watson also noted either option included a minimum contribution to capital reserves of $587,000 for a new fire truck for the Kennebecasis Valley Fire Department.
Coun. Kirk Miller, a vocal proponent of reducing expenses and keeping the tax rate stable, said he preferred the second option.
“In my opinion, we still have a lot of things in capital that we don’t need right now,” he said. “This should be a ‘need’ budget, not a ‘want’ budget.”
Council passed the budget by a vote of 4-3, with Miller voting against, along with Coun. Kerrie Luck and Coun. Noah Donovan.
