Instead of a very slight decrease in residential taxes last year, residents in Stirling-Rawdon could be seeing an almost 10% increase this year.
Mayor Bob Mullin says most of the increase can be attributed to the municipality being charged the full cost for OPP policing at a little over $700,000.
Since the transition to OPP policing a few years ago, Stirling-Rawdon has received transitional funding but those credits have now run out.
Mullin says even at full cost the OPP has been a bargain compared to the former municipal police service.
“Ohh it’s huge. Yes if we’d stayed with them heaven only knows where we’d be now, we’d probably be over $2 million.”
A 9.9% residential tax increase translates into about $280 a year more in taxes, or $23 a month, on a property assessed at $250,000.
A public meeting on the over $5 million draft budget will be held May 1.
