Brandon City Council passed a smaller property tax increase than it had originally proposed in its 2022 budget.
Property taxes will rise by 1.92 per cent in 2022, significantly less than the 6.9 per cent increase the city had been considering.
The total budget for Manitoba’s second-largest city is $225 million.
In a news release, the city said councillors debated several amendments in all areas of municipal spending.
Initiatives in the budget included drainage improvements, $100,000 for lead pipe replacement, increase recreation programs including construction of two new playgrounds, and improvements to downtown, Brandon’s community sportsplex and water treatment plants.
The approved property tax increase is less than the rate of inflation, which reached a 30-year high of 4.8 per cent this month.
Now that the budget has received council approval, it moves to the public hearing stage, for a date to be set some time this spring.
The city has struggled with the pressures of inflation and the ongoing pandemic, which has hammered revenues.
In 2021, Brandon city council reduced the residential property tax rate by one per cent, after proposing an increase of 3.15 per cent.
