Cities grapple with tough budget choices

New Brunswicks largest cities are all struggling to find ways to keep taxes low and not cut into services as councils as they prepare their 2011 budgets.

Municipal budgets are supposed to be finalized this month and councils must all address the provincial governments decision to cut unconditional grants by one per cent and cap property assessment increases at three per cent.

Moncton city councillors will be working on their budget over the next few days, which is projected to spend $123 million up from $108 million in 2008.

If the budget is adopted as it stands currently, the average Moncton homeowner will need to pay an additional $140 per year.

John Martin, the citys financial officer, said a new Turtle Creek dam is going to cost taxpayers a lot of money.

"The major concerns that I see for the utility will be the fact that the user rates are going to escalate over the next few years. These increases will be driven largely by the planned expansion of Turtle Creek for a second dam, Martin said.

Martin said the city also has a long list of renovations and repairs needed on most of its own buildings.

And while they're busy trying to fix the buildings they already own, there is also a growing list of costly new structures on council's wish list, including a new police station, a downtown centre, a parking facility and more streets.

Moncton's property assessment increased by 6.37 per cent but the provincial assessment cap means the city will not receive the entire amount.

Tax rates frozenin Dieppe

While Moncton taxpayers may be digging deeper into their wallets to pay for additional services, Dieppe city council adopted its 2011 budget on Monday night without adjusting its tax rate.

This is the fourth consecutive year that Dieppe has held the line on its tax rate.

Dieppe Mayor Jean LeBlanc said it will be a fiscally challenging year and there were some difficult decisions made on certain projects in the city.

While property taxes are staying firm, water and sewer rates will be going up slightly to roughly $716 for an average household.

Dieppe's property assessment jumped 7.68 per cent, the highest of the eight New Brunswick cities. So it's finances have also been hit by the imposition of a three-per-cent cap on assessments.

Gloomy forecast for Saint John

Saint John councillors are making some gloomy predictions about the coming year, which may include higher taxes, user fees and cuts to services.

City councillors are struggling with a budget that could include an $8-million deficit.

The police and fire departments have already been told they are limited to a one per cent increase.

Coun. Donnie Snook would like to go further and has suggested that volunteers could be used in more rural areas of Saint John.

"A volunteer firefighter is just as trained and just as prepared to offer fire protection," he said.

Coun. Chris Titus said the city should look at limits to the amount of trash homeowners can put out at the curb.

"I say, if we've got to come up with $8 million, we can't pussy foot around things," Titus said.

"We're going to have to make some changes and people may have to get used to something like that."

Saint John councillors are hoping the provincial governmentwill change pension rules that now require the city to top up its employee retirement fund by $6 million.

If provincial legislators agree to the proposed change, then Saint John councillors will only have to trim about $2 million to avoid a property tax increase.

The province's decision to cap property assessments has also impacted on Saint John's ability to raise funds. The city's property assessment increased by 4.01 per cent, one per cent above the cap.

Fredericton pressured to keep old rink

Fredericton is facing the same budget crunch as every other city with a shrinking unconditional grant and a cap on property assessment increases.

The city has recently built the Willie ORee complex, which has two ice surfaces, and it is in the process of building a second arena complex.

There is a group of supporters who are fighting to maintain the York Arena, that was first constructed in the 1940s and rebuilt in 1972.

A new report said the arena needs about $4 million in upgrades just to meet current building codes.

Chris Mabie, who supports keeping the arena, said Fredericton needs York Arena because it doesn't have enough ice surfaces for people to play hockey on.

"We're not meeting the demands. In fact, not only are we not meeting the demands, we're not even close to meeting the demands," Mabie said.

Coun. Mike OBrien, the citys finance committee chairman, said the council will be faced with several tough choices.

"With taxpayers telling us that they want some tax relief, doing our best to find some efficiencies and savings, the York Arena is an additional cost," he said.

Another casualty of the budget may be a statue of the Scottish poet Robbie Burns.

Building a flood-proof foundation for the statue could cost $90,000. Council has indicated that it isn't willing to pay that amount unless citizens put up half the cost.

Fredericton's budget has also been made more difficult because of the provincial assessment cap. The city's assessment was supposed to grow by 4.88 per cent in 2010-11.