City proposing $43M budget for 2024, no tax increases

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Miramichi’s proposed general operating budget for 2024 is expected to have an extra $1.28 million in revenue over this year, while holding the line on taxes.

City treasurer Nancy Gorman presented her proposed $43.8-million budget to council Tuesday. It keeps the residential tax rate at $1.715 per $100 of assessed value for the third straight year, with an extra $2.6 million expected from tax revenue over 2023.

The city will see a reduction of $516,095 in its equalization grant from the provincial government, and $194,407 less from services to other governments. Own-source revenue is projected at $94,468, and a $699,488 surplus from 2022 will be carried over for accounting purposes.

Gorman said a combined $297,000 in operational funding is being earmarked next year to hire a new police officer for the Miramichi Police Force and labourers for the Community Wellness and Recreation Department and Public Works Department. An increase of $472,297 for wage rates and contractual salary bumps is also expected.

Total increases projected for next year are $331,245 for wages and benefits, $116,268 for oil, gas, electricity, and insurance, and $1.29 million for operations. The city will spend $451,438 less on capital projects funded from revenue.

Gorman also presented a $6.62-million utility operating budget to council that will hold the line on water and sewer rates and include $91,147 less in spending. Water rates will remain at $1.29 per cubic metre, while sewer charges will be held at $99.03 per quarter.

The utility revenue breakdown includes $2.1 million from water bills, $3.08 million from sewer bills, $50,000 from connection charges, $671,000 in water cost transfers, $151,220 in septic handling fees, a $67,222 surplus carried over from 2022, $170,500 in storm sewer transfers, and $248,728 in other revenue.

Utility expenses were pegged at $1.4 million in wages and benefits, $2.8 million for operational costs, $1.3 million in principal and $284,723 in interest on long-term debt, $250,982 for fiscal services, and $500,000 from revenue for capital projects.

Capital budget up by $2 million

Miramichi’s proposed $23.5-million general capital budget for next year is $2 million higher than the 2023 spending plan.

Under the Engineering Department, $14.5 million is being earmarked to start work on the multiplex project, $2.5 million is being allocated for asphalt resurfacing, $200,000 is being spent on sidewalk replacements, another $200,000 is going toward reconstructing Prince Charles Street in Newcastle, and  $300,000 is being budgeted for shoreline protection work.

The Engineering Department’s capital wish list also includes a $650,000 parking lot overhaul along the Newcastle waterfront, a $650,000 revamp of John Street in Chatham, and $1.1 million to start an ongoing storm sewer upgrade in the Twin Rivers mobile home park – formerly known as the Kerr trailer park – in Taintville. Another $300,000 is being allocated to build a roadway off Douglastown Boulevard for a proposed new Kent Building Supplies store.

The Miramichi Fire Department’s capital budget consists of new Jaws of Life equipment for Station 2 for $65,000 and a new command SUV to replace the chief’s vehicle for $90,000. The Miramichi Police Force is seeking to buy two new patrol vehicles next year for $70,000 each, a new side-by-side for $50,000, upgrade computers and replace equipment at the communications centre for $30,000, and get new body armour for $85,000 for the emergency response team.

The Public Works Department’s capital items include $330,000 for a new loader, replacing computers at the Miratech Building and City Hall for $50,000, replacing an aging boiler at Historic Beaverbrook House for up to $100,000, buying a new hybrid truck for $80,000, and budgeting an extra $100,000 to cover cost overruns and finish the salt storage shed at the new north-side public works building on Hansen Road.

For the Community Wellness and Recreation Department, capital projects for 2024 include replacing the bleacher base at the Gerald King Memorial Ballfield in Nelson for $20,000, replacing the storage building roof at Station Wharf Marina in Chatham for $18,000, a land acquisition near Station Wharf for $350,000, preliminary work on the proposed outdoor recreation hub at the old Harkins Middle School site in Newcastle for $300,000, and landscaping the new trail through the old Miramichi Lumber Products site in Newcastle for $245,000.

The Economic Development and Tourism Department’s only budget request was for a new transit bus for the Miramichi Public Transit Commission for $150,000.

The proposed $2.2-million utility capital budget sets aside $1.3 million for continued work on the Newcastle water system upgrade, a combined $550,000 for utility replacements as part of the John Street and Prince Charles Street overhauls, $250,000 for the ongoing water meter replacements in Chatham and Douglastown, and $50,000 each for new aerators at both the Newcastle and Chatham wastewater treatment lagoons.