Residents of the MD of Bonnyville will be seeing a dip in their taxes this year, after the MD voted to keep the residential mill rate the same for 2018.
"It was very much about balancing services while providing tax relief," said director of finance and administration for the MD Michael Trabysh.
In total , the municipality has about $136.9-million in spending planned for the upcoming fiscal year, with most of those dollars being put towards transportation and utilities costs.
The MD included funding for a number of projects. They have allocated $4-million towards recreation, $3.6-million towards trail networks, $2.5-million for fire halls, with $1-million for the Kinosoo chair lift, $1-million in utilities, and $2-million for the municipality's Legacy Fund.
A majority of their funding, $64.2-million, is coming from municipal taxes, followed by $22.8-million from surplus, $8.4-million from government grants, $6.5-million being taken from reserves, $1.2-million in industry contributions, and $6.9-million in user fees.
The MD has included the creation of the small business sub tax class, and the decreased non-residential mill rate in their 2018 budget.
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MD faces flooding concerns
The MD of Bonnyville has been busy trying to keep water levels at bay, as the snow continues to melt across the municipality.
Most recently, residents in the Country Lane Estates were concerned with water levels in their subdivision.
The MD responded to their weekend calls and did what they could to pump out water in the area.
"We do have a plan moving forward to alleviate this," Darcey Zelisko, director of transportation and utilities said.
The MD is also keeping a close eye on the levels of the Beaver River, and other areas throughout the municipality.
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MD discusses 2018 road priorities
Residents throughout the MD will be facing some road construction this summer.
The MD has approved their road priorities for the year, with 19-miles being repaved, 13-miles receiving road oiling or rip and relay, and 12.75 miles being totally reconstructed.
Council agrees to lend a hand to Grand Centre Golf and Country Club
The Grand Centre Golf Course requested funding from council to help with repairs to their pump house, along with other issues.
The MD agreed to give the golf course a hand by offering them $150,000 for upgrades. This is the same amount of funding they provided the Bonnyville Golf and Country Club the year prior for updates to their sprinkler system.
Coyote and Wolf Reduction Program on par with last year's numbers
Matt Janz, director of ag and waste, provided the MD with an update on the 2017/18 wolf and coyote reduction program.
The coyote portion of the program was cut short this year because of the decrease in animal population. However, in total, the MD had 830 coyotes and 32 wolves brought in.
Last year, the program saw 932 coyotes and 33 wolves.
MD looking for Farm Family Award Nominations
The MD of Bonnyville Agricultural Service Board is asking residents who have a family in mind for the Farm Family Awards to submit their nominations by May 6. This can be done by attending the MD office, or by mail.
In order for a family to qualify for the award, they must be actively involved in a farming operation within the MD. The family's major source of income must be from the farm operation.
To nominate a family, a resident is asked to submit the family's name and a brief description of their farm operation. The award will be presented to a deserving family in recognition for their work and community involvement.
Kinosoo Ridge closes for the season
Kinosoo Ridge Ski and Snow Resort has closed up shop for the season.
Director of parks and recreation Chris McCord provided council with an update on how their 2017/18 season went.
According to McCord, the MD had a total of 14,730 visits from Cold Lake residents, 2,165 from the MD and St. Paul County areas, and 1,671 from the Town of Bonnyville.
This year, 56 schools hit the slopes.
MD to consider adding night shift for peace officers
Director of public safety Chris Garner will be mulling over the possibility of creating a night shift for peace officers.
Currently, peace officers' shifts end around midnight. Council agreed it might be worthwhile to start the discussion of keeping their officers on all night.
The MD has not decided whether or not to go ahead with a shift change, and will discuss it at their next council meeting.
