Township council in Alfred-Plantagenet has approved the 2019 budget with a three per cent increase in the tax rate.

According to figures from Treasurer Valérie Parisien, in 2018, residential property owners paid $643 per every $100,000 of the assessed property value.  In 2019, it will increase by three per cent to $662 per $100,000 of assessed value.

The township expects to increase its property tax revenue by $352,741 in 2019 to more than $7 million, which is 5.3 per cent more than in 2018 when the tax revenue estimate was more than $6.6 million. The rest of the township’s yearly revenue comes from grants and user fees.

It is a balanced budget worth more than $11.6 million.

The operations revenue for 2018 was budgeted at more than $10.4 million. In 2019, it is estimated at more than $10.6 million, which is a two per cent increase. Operations expenses in 2018 were more than $9.7 million and are estimated at more than $9.8 million or 1.1 per cent more for 2019.

The capital budget for 2019 is smaller than in 2018. Last year, capital revenue was budgeted at more than $2.3 million. In 2019, it is $948,262, which is 59.4 per cent less.  Capital expenses in 2018 were more than $2.4 million and are estimated at more than $1.7 million for 2019, which is a 27 per cent decrease.

Capital spending on road improvements in 2019 has been reduced to $967,000 from more than $1.6 million in 2018. However, road equipment spending was zero in 2018 and $465,000 is being set aside for this year.

Overhead costs for the recreation department are also significantly reduced from $298,500 in 2018 to $78,916 in 2019.

Library capital spending is increasing slightly by $916 in addition to the $40,000 amount from 2018.

According to budget documents, expansion to the town hall is complete and therefore no additional capital spending is needed on that project this year.

In the Fire Department, $10,000 has been set aside for new bunker suits—the special clothing firefighters wear while responding to fires, and $35,000 is going toward a new service van, along with $100,000 to the reserve fund for the future purchase of new fire vehicles.

No other major road, sewer, water, waste collection, or recreation capital projects are planned for 2019 in Alfred-Plantagenet.