Quispamsis Council Approves Proposed Budget

Residents in the town of Quispamsis will see their tax rates remain flat in the new year.

Council approved the town’s proposed 2021 budget during their regular meeting Tuesday.

Coun. Kirk Miller, who chairs the finance committee, said he is happy with the budget.

“We’re getting a lot of work needed that’s going to get done next year,” said Miller. “We were able to put all of our wants in, or most of our wants in.”

The initial draft budget presented in late October included a tax increase of 2.66 cents, but that was eliminated when the proposed budget was presented Tuesday.

Miller said council made several changes to keep the tax rate flat, such as borrowing more money to finance some of their capital projects.

Council also removed $214,131 they were planning on setting aside in a reserve fund to help offset the town’s $1.6-million share of the Fire Station 2 renovation.

Capital Budget

The 2021 capital budget of $3.9 million includes just over $2 million for road work throughout the town.

“One of the big ones that we added near the end was almost $600,000 to finish the Quispamsis Road from Cambridge [Avenue] all the way to the Vincent Road,” said Miller. “I believe there’s about 4,000 cars a day that go on that road.”

The budget also includes money for phase five of the Gondola Boulevard streetscape project as well as work on Bradley Lake Road and Hammond River Road.

While the tax rate will remain the same, there will be increases in some other areas. Households will pay an extra $15 for sewer rates and about $10 more for water rates.

Rental rates at the qplex and the Quispamsis Memorial Arena are increasing by three per cent while qplex pool rates are going up by four per cent.

It will also cost residents three per cent more to use fields and courts, as well as for facility rentals.

The budget is set to come back before council for final approval on Nov. 17.

Comex Service

Not all Quispamsis councillors were in favour of the proposed 2021 budget presented on Tuesday night.

Coun. Pierre Rioux voted against it after his motion to remove Comex funding for one year was defeated.

Rioux said he believes the $173,000 budgeted for the service could be better spent in areas like road paving.

“We’re supporting a system that is in my estimation, at least in the last few months and it looks like the foreseeable future, is wasting our money,” said Rioux.

“We’re in the midst of paying $174,000 for a service which is serving, I can only guess, 25 or 30 people.”

Coun. Miller says the town’s ad hoc Comex committee is waiting for updated information from the Saint John Transit Commission, which recently received its long-awaited operational audit.

One of the recommendations made in the audit was to reduce the number of Comex routes from three to two, according to Stephanie Rackley-Roach, the city’s acting director of corporate performance.

“With respect to Comex, that will require discussions with the communities it serves with a view that Saint John is not subsidizing that service offering in any way,” Rackley-Roach told the city’s growth committee on Oct. 21.

At the time, members of the transit commission were still completing their review of the audit and its recommendations.

Miller said once they have the updated information from the commission, the committee will provide council with a recommendation.