Village of New Maryland Budget 2017

Hello there. Tonight the Village of New Maryland Council presented our first budget. It was read by Deputy-Mayor Alex Scholten and accepted unanimously by all members of Council.

BUDGET 2017

Your Worship, fellow Councillors and residents it is my privilege to present to you the 2017 General Operating, Utility and Capital Budgets for the Village of New Maryland.

In the 2017 General Operating Fund Non-Tax Revenue Budget we were able to generate a total Non-Tax Revenue of $317,083. Our tax base only increased at a rate of 0.0027%, resulting in a new tax base of $341,991,050. This represents an increase in revenue of only $113 from the base.

The 2017 General Operating and Capital Fund Expenditure Budget will be $4,536,859 which is an increase of $114,259 over the 2016 amount.

General Government Services will only increase by $967 to $889,094.

Protective Services expenditures will be $1,027,220, an increase of $15,695 over 2016, which includes the R.C.M.P. increase of $13,982, Emergency Measure, Building Inspection and Fire Department costs.

Transportation Services expenditures will be $594,941, an increase of $4,566, of which the snow removal contract was the main driver.

Environmental Health Services expenditures will be $256,500, a reduction of $1,900 for garbage collection tonnage.

Environmental Development Services expenditures will be $157,332, a reduction of $346.

Recreation and Cultural Services expenditures will be $619,949, a reduction of $15,592. The main drivers were personnel cost reductions and a reduction in grounds maintenance costs at the New Maryland Centre.

Fiscal Services expenditures for debts will be $396,910 a reduction of $1,904. This section includes Interest on Long Term Debt and Principal Instalments. This expenditure includes the capital costs for the Gravenstein culvert and the paving project in Castle Acres debentures being issued.

For 2017 the General Capital Fund will be $594,913, an increase of $112,773. Of the total Capital $198,580 has been allocated to Transportation projects, $76,000 has been allocated to Recreation projects, $130,000 has been allocated to the Fire Department and EMO, $7,500 has been allocated to General Government, $142,833 has been allocated for Infrastructure Replacement Reserve, $21,000 has been allocated to a Municipal Plan Review Reserve and Solar Panel project, and $19,000 has been allocated to a site restoration and Specification for Developers review.

In response to the infrastructure deficit, as made apparent through PSAB (Public Sector Accounting Board), Council has again stepped up to the plate in terms of continuing to address this deficit in order to protect the longevity and sustainability of the municipality by setting aside additional funding of $142,833 which equates to just over 4¢ on the rate. This funding will be placed into a reserve for future infrastructure replacement.

This being said, the overall General Operating Budget increased by a total of $1,486 or 0.04% while the General Capital Budget increased by $112,773 or 23.39%, which is reflective of the ever-increasing capital demands on the municipality.

At this juncture I would like to point out that since 2011 the Village has lost $194,966 in revenues through reductions in Unconditional Grant funding from the Province of New Brunswick. In fact, since 2011 the Village has lost $219,966 through reductions in the Unconditional Grant, Provincial and Federal Student funding, as well as Fine Sharing Revenue. This represents a significant reduction in the Village’s revenue, one that neither staff nor Council have any control over. Each cent of the rate represents $34,199 of revenue for the Village. Therefore, the combined reductions since 2011 equates to 6.43¢ on the rate, and if you add in the negative impact of the base reduction for 2016 of $20,457 this equates to 7.03¢ on the rate that has been lost, a loss the Village has to contend with. Faced with this challenge, Council and staff have worked diligently to control costs and reduce where they could without impacting services. We will continue to vigorously review program costs and services throughout 2017 to identify various options available for consideration. In 2017, as a result of the comprehensive study on the Village’s storm water system, we identified potential flood areas that could pose risks to people, property and public health and safety. As a result, residents will see increased capital spending earmarked for new or upgraded storm water infrastructure. With increased demands on the Village to deal with these deficiencies, we want to be transparent about the associated costs and where those funds will come from. Because of the nature and scope of such projects, each will involve substantial borrowing and the additional costs from this borrowing will need to be reflected in future tax rates as we cannot afford to expand or upgrade this infrastructure without doing so.

Over the past several months, staff and Council have worked diligently together in order to bring forward a budget that not only addresses the sustainability of the Village but also affordability for our residents and I believe that this budget has managed to do both.

Therefore, with a total expenditure of $4,536,859 less the Non-Tax Revenue of $317,083 and less the Unconditional Transfer of $6,163 and a Municipal Tax Base of $341,991,050 we are left with a Tax Rate for 2017 of $1.2321 per $100 of assessment. This represents an increase of 2.49¢ on the rate or a 2% increase. To put that into perspective, for every $100,000 of assessed value this increase would represent $24.90 for the year compared to 2016 assessments. On an average home value of $250,000, residents would see an annual increase of $62.25 in their property tax bill or an increase of $5.19 per month.


The Village of New Maryland’s 2017 Utility Operating and Capital Expenditure Budget will be $1,191,585 which represents an increase of $35,302.

Water supply and Treatment costs will be $250,822 which represents an increase of $531 over the 2016 amount. This increase is due mainly to increases in power and pumping costs.

Sewage Collection and Treatment costs will be $319,527, which represents a reduction of $22,376 over the 2016 amount. This reduction is primarily due to decreases experienced in sewage treatment and disposal costs.

Fiscal Services costs equal $347,742, which is a reduction of $2,586 over the 2016 amount.

The following reserves will be made: $50,000 for future maintenance of the Waste Water Treatment Plant; $13,420 for replacement of water meters; and $20,000 for future maintenance of the Water Tower.

The Utility Capital requirements for 2017 are $189,474, representing an increase of $59,593 over the 2016 amount.

On the utility revenue side, under the heading Other Revenues from Own Sources results in a total of $126,771. This leaves a balance of $1,064,814 to generate from user fees. Water service will be charged at $1.38 per cubic meter (an increase of 4¢ per cubic meter), plus a flat fee of $37 (an increase of $1 per quarter) and a meter fee of $5 per quarter (no change). Sewerage service will increase to $512 per year which represents an increase of $16. This is the second increase to the user fees which were identified previously as part of the Village of New Maryland’s 5 Year sustainability program. For the average household with both water and sewer services this will amount to an annual increase of $28.00 or $2.33 per month.

In conclusion I would like to acknowledge the hard work of our Treasurer (Scott Sparks) for being patient in helping to finalize the numbers on Council’s behalf. I would also like to thank our Chief Administrative Officer (Cynthia Geldart), Department Heads, and my fellow Councillors and Mayor for their dedication in helping to prepare this budget.

Staff and Council have worked diligently for several months on this budget and it comes as a result of numerous meetings, debates and studies being completed. I believe this budget reflects recognition of the burden taxes and fees have on residents but at the same time, seeks to balance the need to ensure the long-term viability of the Village, the value of resident’s property and the public health, safety and enjoyment of residents who live and work here.

It is an honour to submit the Village of New Maryland’s 2017 Operating and Utility Budgets for your consideration and approval.

At this point I would like to introduce the motions to adopt the 2017 Budgets.


During the discussion prior to voting on the Budget motion, I provided the following comments:

Budget 2016

During the election campaign I told residents that I would work to keep our taxes as low as possible. To promise that we would not raise taxes would have been irresponsible in my opinion. I am satisfied that Council and Staff have worked very hard on this budget to ensure that we use Village tax dollars in a responsible manner and have sorted projects and expenses in a proper prioritized manner.

I acknowledge that the Village and its infrastructure are approaching a period that replacement and repairs are going to be necessary more frequently due to the rising age of Village assets. This is just a fact of life.

This certainly does not imply that poor workmanship or materials were originally involved by any means. On the contrary. I would say that we have been doing quite well to date and that the staff and Village engineers have done a great job of staying on top of monitoring Village assets. For this I congratulate them on a job well done.

One factor that cannot be ignored regarding our infrastructure is the change in weather events. The increase in severe weather events around the world and at home has resulted in our implementation of the Storm Water Management Plan – a document which details both the need to increase the capacity of our infrastructure as well as the significant costs involved. To ignore the need for financing of these costs would be detrimental to our community.

Costs and expenses for the operation of our services will also continue to rise. Accordingly, the sources of the needed income will need to keep up. This year’s budget increases the tax rate of the Village for the first time in 4 years. All members of Council would prefer that the increase was not necessary. We are after all, Village residents as well. But we agreed that this increase is fiscally responsible and manageable.

I believe that the Councils of the past have worked very hard and diligently and this Council is continuing this tradition.

I would like to thank the staff and my fellow members of Council for the spirit of cooperation and making this process go smoothly.


Take care,
Tim