Madawaska Valley Mayor Mark Willmer says a couple recent decisions show it’s clear his council has fiscally conservative views.
Although Madawaska Valley staff presented a draft budget which called for a tax increase of 2 per cent, council whittled the increase down to 1.5 per cent before it was ultimately passed earlier this week.
Councillors elected to take $40,000 out of a Public Works budget devoted to sand and salting. They ultimately voted to put $20,000 of that savings into reserves and the other $20,000 allowed for the tax reduction.
Willmer said he was pleased with how the budget process unfolded. He expects votes based on keeping expenses low will continue to be won.
He says he’ll deal with that framework, but continue to voice concerns when he sees red flags.
“One of my concerns was future years,” he says. “It’s nice to come in with such a low budget, but if it’s going to put us in a predicament in years two, three and four of this term, it really isn’t effective. But I’ve talked to our treasurer and I think we’re in good shape.”
The budget vote comes days after council rejected a staff recommendation to start development charges.