There doesn’t appear to be a happy medium of where Kapuskasing town council wants to be with a municipal tax increase.
Councillors couldn’t decide what of the $2 million worth of proposed worst-case scenario savings could be used to help get the tax increase down from its original 10.5 per cent and reduce the $1.33 million shortfall.
Mayor Dave Plourde says the savings act as a menu of what items could be cut and what dollar amounts are attached.
“Are really not a choice that council would entertain I don’t think unless we were in a real, real, real difficult situation so difficult that it would be the detriment of the community,” he said. “I mean cutting down the swimming pool completely and the arena completely are just not an option.”
Finance chairman Martin Dinnissen asked town staff to again go back and get the number to about seven per cent, while councilor Melanie Breton suggested that councillor’s own raise be revoked along with meal and cell phone allowances, but that a key position of the GM of public works is filled.
Council and town staff spent much of last night’s meeting answering a long list of questions from an email sent in and then reviewing a worst-case scenario items.
Several local residents that were in attendance last night agreed there must be an increase and could live with a 5 per cent mark.
