Village of Granisle taxpayers have begun receiving their 2023 tax notices containing a 5.26 per cent residential tax bump to finance various village government functions.
The increase is more than the four per cent hike facing Houston residents, a figure that resulted in prolonged debate among council members in that community, but less than the 10.33 per cent increase facing Terrace taxpayers in the face of paying more to find and keep senior city staffers.
At the same time, the Granisle village council increased water and sewer rates by 10 per cent because of increasing costs connected to the village’s new wastewater treatment plant, said Granisle mayor Linda McGuire.
Taken together, property taxes this year represent just under five per cent or $500,000 of the village’s budget with residential taxation providing $406,000 of that amount.
This year’s planned spending of $10.236 million is dramatically up over the 2022 total of $5.9 million but some of that increase is on the strength of significant grants to completely redo the village’s marina.
“The new marina upgrade is an exciting project for our community with a target completion date of the summer of 2023,” McGuire said.
Other capital projects were already financed but the work could not be carried out last year and so the projects have been moved forward to this year.
One long-anticipated improvement for the village is broadband connectivity and that’s on the books for this year.
“It is included in the [financial] plan this year as we have submitted a grant application, awaiting final decisions and approvals,” said McGuire.
The village council’s long-range financial plan calls for a three per cent increase in businesses in the community.
“This will enable the village to increase revenue without increasing the tax burden onto residents,” the plan states.