On December 18th, four of the six councillors of the municipal council of Dundee adopted the budget for the 2016 fiscal year, with Mayor Jean Armstrong present to oversee the vote.
The budget was closely tended to by W.D. Fraser, and was discussed in length by the councillors in order to achieve an optimal outcome. Despite public notice being sent to every resident, the meeting was sparsely attended, which Fraser interpreted positively. “People in Dundee are happy with the way the town is managed,” he said. The evening meeting was concluded after twenty minutes.
This year’s budget will call for an increase in revenues by 4.4% from 2015, due majorly to property taxes and security services. The revenue collected is estimated to be $738, 274, while Dundee has allotted for a spending budget of $751,391, creating a deficit that will be accounted for by using accumulated surplus funds.
In 2015, the land value in Dundee increased exponentially. Councillors responded by implementing a variable taxation rate for registered agricultural exploitations at 0.1867/$100 evaluation in order to mitigate the notable increase in land evaluation. The municipality also lowered the property tax rate by of $0.4336 to $0.30/$100 valuation, making for a revenue increase of 4% for the municipality.
