Council approves 2024 budgets

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Miramichi’s $43.8-million general operating budget for 2024 will hold the line on the city’s inside tax rate, but rates will go up again for residents of the newly annexed areas.

City council unanimously approved the budget Tuesday with a residential tax rate of $1.715 per $100 of assessment value for residents of the former city boundaries.

The rates were increased by five cents again for the portions of the former Newcastle and Nelson local service districts annexed by the city in January due to the municipal reforms, with the Newcastle LSD’s rate set at $0.680 per $100 of assessment and the Nelson LSD’s rate being adjusted to $0.664 per $100 of assessment.

The general operating budget will be funded by a combination of property tax revenues, the equalization grant from the provincial government, and non-tax revenue – including a surplus carried forward from 2022.

The bulk of operating expenses, or 82.02 per cent, are tied up in fixed personnel costs based on collective agreements, wage schedules, and benefits. Non-personnel expenditures make up 38.84 per cent of the budget, with the rest going toward capital projects and debt service costs.

Operating budget allocations by department include $9.45 million for transportation, $8.2 million for the Miramichi Police Force, $7.88 million for fiscal services, $5.99 million for the Community Wellness and Recreation Department, $4.43 for the Miramichi Fire Department, $4.04 million for general government, $2.25 for environmental development, and $1.56 million for environmental health.

Council also unanimously approved a $29.3-million general capital budget that set aside $25.38 million for the Engineering Department, $2.6 million for the rec department, $660,000 for the Public Works Department, $305,000 for the police force, $155,000 for the fire department, and $150,000 for the Economic Development and Tourism Department.

The city is projected to receive $14.1 million of its capital budget from provincial and federal grants, $7.09 million from reserve accounts, $3.97 million from revenues, $3.48 million from borrowing, and $650,000 from the Canada Community-Building Fund – formerly known as the federal gas tax rebate program.

Total capital spending in next year’s budget includes $20 million for multiplex work, $5.38 million for road work, $2.44 million for land improvements, $878,000 for upgrades to existing buildings, and $590,000 for ongoing fleet replacements.

The Engineering Department’s projects planned for 2024 include starting construction on the new multiplex, designing and building the first phase of a drainage and storm sewer system for the Twin Rivers mobile home park, overhauling John Street in Chatham and Prince Charles Street in Newcastle, repaving the Newcastle waterfront parking lot, and building a new roadway near the multiplex site that’s being cost-shared with J.D. Irving, Limited for a proposed new Kent Building Supplies store.
Other engineering projects include asphalt resurfacing, sidewalk replacements, and shoreline protection work.

The Economic Development and Tourism Department’s capital item is a new bus for the Miramichi Public Transit Commission. The fire department will be buying new Jaws of Life equipment for Station 1 and a new chief’s vehicle.

The police force will be purchasing new body armour for its patrol officers in 2024, revamping IT equipment for its communications centre, and replacing two patrol vehicles. Public works projects will include installing a new boiler at Historic Beaverbrook House, replacing a loader, replacing IT infrastructure at City Hall and the Miratech Building, finishing the north-side salt storage shed, and buying a hybrid truck.

The rec department’s capital priorities for next year consist of landscaping the trail through the former Miramichi Lumber Products site in Newcastle, replacing the Carroll Street Park’s playground and ground surface in Douglastown, installing new lights at the Miramichi Valley High School field, adding public wi-fi at the Miramichi Civic Centre, and replacing the bleachers at the Gerald King Memorial Ballfield in Nelson.

Also in the works for the rec department are a new infield at Memorial Field in Newcastle, a new dance floor at Ritchie Wharf Park, work on the active transportation southern spine’s first phase, a new storage building roof at Station Wharf Marina, and a new half-ton truck.

In addition to the general operating and capital budgets, unanimously approved a $6.62-million utility operating budget that maintains water and sewer rates at $1.29 per cubic metre for water and $99.03 per quarter for sewerage. It also sets aside $2.2 million for five capital projects, including work on a multi-year Newcastle water system upgrade, the reconstructions of John Street and Prince Charles Street, an ongoing water meter replacement in Chatham and Douglastown, and new aerators at the Chatham and Newcastle wastewater treatment lagoons.