How prepared do you feel for the May 30 Town Hall meeting on the Emergency Services Bylaw? Is there any information we at VoTC can help you source prior to the Town Hall? Chances are if you are looking for it, others are too! We want everyone to be as prepared as possible when you attend to voice your thoughts.
One question we had was how including firefighting services in the mill rate would affect our annual tax rates. So I reached out to CAO Ryan Maier and this is what he said:
“We haven’t done any specific calculations or projections around a separate mill rate to cover firefighting. However, if you take the 2017 rate that was applied, which I believe may have been the last time it was on the taxes, it was at 0.0006625.
At an average assessment of $257,556 for residential properties in Thorhild County, this would equate to $170.63 per residential tax notice, and generate about $550,000 in revenue.”
Personally, I think a $170/year insurance policy to avoid tens of thousands in fire-fighting charges is a pretty decent “insurance premium”. What do you think???
Another question we had is how has our Emergency Services Bylaw changed over time? We compared the bylaws from 2017 to now and created this printable PDF chart. Check it out!