Tuesday, February 22, 2011

New budget passed

The city's new budget has passed. Council voted largely in favour of the budget after some last minute attempts to make cuts fell flat during Tuesday’s council meeting.

Mayor Keith Hobbs voted against his first budget as mayor and says the 1.27% tax hike is a deal-breaker. Hobbs says that the process has been a learning experience.


Councilor Larry Hebert voted against the budget as well; the rest of council voted in favour.

Northwood Councillor Mark Betnz voted for the budget. While Bentz doesn't think the tax increase is unreasonable he wants leaders to keep the city's financial health in mind all year long and not just when it comes time to make a budget. Bentz says that given the circumstances, he feels City Manager Tim Commisso did a good job of keeping costs down.

The budget still needs to be ratified in March before it's official.