Slight tax decrease for Kirkland residents

BY ELYSE AMEND

elyse.amend@transcontinental.ca

Kirkland residents will see a slight decrease in their city's property taxes in 2008.

Council adopted its $28.1 million budget on Monday night, setting the total mill rate for residential properties at just under $1.2 per $100 valuation, down from just over $1.3 per $100 in 2007. About 38 per cent of the 2008 residential rate is Kirkland’s general real estate tax ($0.45 per $100 valuation). The Montreal Metropolitan Community (MMC) tax makes up two per cent ($0.03 per $100 valuation), and the agglomeration tax makes up just under 60 per cent ($0.71 per $100 valuation).

The water tax will see property owners pay $90 for the first 60,000 gallons, with additional charges for extra usage.

Tax rates in Kirkland’s commercial and industrial sectors will increase slightly in 2008, from just under $4.5 per $100 valuation in 2007 to just over $4.6 per $100 valuation. Just under 49 per cent of that is Kirkland’s general real estate tax ($2.3 per $100 valuation), while the agglomeration tax makes up 50 per cent ($2.4 per $100 valuation). The MMC portion is about one per cent of the total tax rate for 2008 ($0.03 per $100 valuation).

Real estate taxes will make up just under $23 million of Kirkland’s revenues in 2008, up from $22.09 million in 2007.

The City of Kirkland’s expenses are up about $1 million, to $28.1 in 2008 from $27.1 million in 2007. Just over $8.6 million will be spent on salaries and benefits for town employees, and just over $7.1 million will go towards’ the city’s debt service.

Just under $2.4 million will go towards road maintenance in 2008, up 4.6 per cent from 2007, while garbage collection and disposal will cost the city $1.8 million (up 1.9 per cent from 2007). Money spent on water treatment and purification is also up by 3.4 per cent, from $1.49 million in 2007 to $1.54 in 2008.

Kirkland cut some funds in the recreation and culture sector: the city will spend 0.1 per cent less on the sports complex and arena (from $1.19 million in 2007 to $1.18 million in 2008), and 20.1 per cent less on parks and playgrounds (from $1.76 million in 2007 to $1.4 million in 2008). However, funding for the library has gone up 12.8 per cent (from $1.04 million in 2007 to $1.75 million in 2008), and funding for other expenditures, such as green spaces has increased from $1.14 million in 2007 to $1.75 million in 2008.