It’s all official.
On Tuesday (May 10) city council adopted its tax rate and five-year financial plan bylaws by votes of 6-1 with only Coun. Brown opposed.
The tax rate is increasing by 1.75 per cent for 2016. For the average Merritt home, which is valued at $236,000, this results in an additional $21 in property taxes this year, and will generate additional tax revenue of approximately $118,000.
Property tax bills are expected to be mailed out next week, and are due before Monday, July 4 by 4:30 p.m.
The City of Merritt is planning to spend approximately $10 million on capital projects this year.
Below is a list of capital projects that are now officially on the city’s radar in 2016.
Item: Spirit Square sun shade
Cost: $25,000
The Skinny: Staff will look into its options for different types of sun shades to place over Spirit Square.
Item: Garbage truck replacement
Cost: $386,000
The Skinny: The city intends to put out a request for proposal to purchase a new garbage truck, replacing the one that serves residential areas. The truck has been known to break down and is at the end of its life cycle. The new truck won’t arrive until 2017.
Item: Coldwater Avenue road replacement
Cost: $500,000 (half from a grant)
The Skinny: The City of Merritt recently applied to the second intake of the Building Canada Fund for a matching grant to help pay to repave Coldwater Avenue to Voght Street. The city applied for this grant to pave the road last year, but wasn’t successful, and ended up paving just the 1400 block of the street. The project will only proceed if the grant is successful. Water and sewer lines will be replaced in the process in addition to repaving the road.
Item: Beautifying Nicola Avenue
Cost: $980,000
The Skinny: The City of Merritt is renovating the six medians of Nicola Avenue, which involves replacing the old asphalt medians with concrete and adding trees and other shrubbery to them.
Item: Detailed Design plans for Collettville
Cost: $60,000
The Skinny: The city plans to have detailed design plans for sidewalks and a storm system drawn up for the Collettville area of town.
Item: Sidewalk on Charters Street
Cost: $12,000
The Skinny: The parking lot of the Seventh Day Adventist church currently abuts the concrete curb of Charters Street, and the city will install a sidewalk there where one doesn’t currently exist.
