Kings, NS, council approves budget increases, holds line on tax rates

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Kings County council has approved operating and capital budgets with increases of several million dollars while holding the line on residential and commercial tax rates.

At a special meeting on April 2, council approved an operating, utility and reserve budget of $69.8 million, and a capital and project budget of $48.1 million, for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. Last year’s operating budget totalled $65.3 million, while last year’s capital budget was $41.6 million.

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Manager of financial reporting Tyler Honeywood presented 15 separate recommendations relating to the budgets for council’s consideration. All were approved.

Council held the line on residential and commercial tax rates, which have remained unchanged since 2009 and 2010 respectively. The residential and resource rate is $0.853 per $100 in assessed property value and the commercial rate is $2.287 per $100 of assessed value.

While rates have remained unchanged, property owners that have had an increase in assessed value over the past year will see higher tax bills. In Kings County, overall assessed property value has increased by 1.5 per cent for CAP-eligible properties and by 5.5 per cent for new housing construction and major renovations.

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According to a news release, the assessment increase would allow the municipality to “manage inflationary pressures and significant increases to mandatory provincial payments for education and policing services (increases of $1,477,700 and $591,200 respectively).”

Striving to do better

Mayor Dave Corkum said he thinks it’s a reasonable budget. Now and down the road, he said, there are some serious costs facing the municipality, including several water and sewer projects, and the possibility of a regional recreation complex.

The cost of services provided by intermunicipal agencies like the Kings Transit Authority and Valley Waste Resource Management are also going up. He said Kings County is fortunate to have some growth to help offset the increases.

“At the end of the day, without any tax increase, I would say that the council and the staff have done a phenomenal job and certainly strive to continue to do better,” Corkum said.

He said it’s among his goals as mayor for the municipality to continue living within assessment increases so tax rates don’t have to go up.

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Corkum said he’s proud of the efforts of the current staff and council in delivering the balanced budget and with how well they worked as a team to do so. This includes the late Greg Barr, who recently passed away. He was the municipality’s finance and IT director.

Barr had a lot of the budget information in place for them and “he would deserve a lot of the credit for the success of our current (financial) situation in Kings County,” Corkum said. “Although he’s no longer with us, he played a major role in that.”

He said it’s a credit to past councils and staff that the municipality hasn’t seen a rate increase in at least 15 years. Compared to other rural municipalities, the County of Kings has done very well in holding the line.

During the discussion, Coun. Emily Lutz said she is proud of the efforts of staff and the way the municipality maintains a reputation for continuing to invest while being fiscally responsible.

“I think that’s a demonstration of the fiscal responsibility that we’ve maintained here at the municipality and being able to raise our budgets year-over-year based on the rising assessments and also cover the costs that, for us, continue to rise,” Lutz said.

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Capital budget and reserves

The capital and project budget includes 45 projects, with a focus on infrastructure investment, the replacement of critical end-of-life assets, and projects supporting key strategic priorities.

“It does feel like a historic investment in infrastructure in Kings County,” Lutz said.

The municipality has not seen a capital budget of this magnitude in the past. She said it’s positive and reflects the level of change and growth that is happening.

Council also approved a five-year capital plan and a new funding stream to support village infrastructure projects has been added.

An enhanced capital reserve contribution of $515,000 will help support long-term asset management plans and address a capital reserve deficit. An additional operating reserve contribution of $625,000 is intended to offset unknown future expenditures and provide more flexibility to support future initiatives.

Corkum said that while he thinks the county has done a decent job in the past, he believes more money should be put into reserves. He doesn’t want to be an “alarmist,” but he recognizes that upgrades to the regional sewer will be needed in the future and there are areas where the municipality is considering sewer and water infrastructure projects.

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“These are big-ticket items, so it’s a situation that the last thing you want is people’s sewer or water bill to end up being more than their tax bill, and without reserves, that’s what could happen,” Corkum said.

Other budget highlights

• Overall funding for fire departments serving Kings County has increased by 3.3 per cent, from $2,829,650 to $2,924,050.
• Funding for six new full-time positions has been included. According to a news release from the municipality, the positions are intended to support development growth, increased demand for services, long-term plans, and strategic priorities as set by council.
• The personal property tax reduction amount for households with a total income below $47,000 has increased, with eligible applicants now receiving up to $580 in relief.
• More than $4.1 million has been budgeted for grant programs and funding to community groups to benefit a range of organizations and individuals. This includes $224,560 in funding to external service providers that make unique services available to municipal residents.
• For more information on the County of Kings budgets, visit www.countyofkings.ca/budget.

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