LaSalle Town Council has asked the administration to take another look at its draft budget for 2023.
Following a day of budget deliberations Wednesday, councillors returned the spending plan and asked the administration to look for additional savings. The draft budget had a proposed 5.25 per cent property tax increase.
Mayor Crystal Meloche, though, said residents are expecting to see service continue at a certain level.
"We understand that this has been a difficult year for the budget. We have read through the budget, and there are not a lot of options to cut," said Meloche. "The residents love the services that we have, and they love the events that we hold. We are not willing to cut services to bring in a tax increase below three per cent."
The administration has been asked to refigure the budget to reflect a potential tax hike of 4.5 per cent to five per cent.
The current draft includes inflationary costs at 3.9 per cent. Any cuts below four per cent may lead to services being dropped or reduced. A tax decrease by one per cent means that $408,000 must be eliminated from the budget.
"Municipalities are required to provide and maintain our core essential services like fire, police, roads, and storm sewers," said LaSalle Finance Director and Treasurer Dale Langlois. "The non-essential services we have in LaSalle make LaSalle an attractive place to live and give us our identity. Things like events, trails, a recreation complex, the event centre, our transit system, and enhanced snow removal are benefits in our community. Not many municipalities of this size provide all these services."
The administration is being asked to present a revised draft budget to the council during the February 28 meeting.
