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City of Rossland set to start on budget next week

Budget time is coming up for the city and there are still many questions in residents’ minds as to what future taxes could look like.

Budget time is coming up for the city and there are still many questions in residents’ minds as to what future taxes could look like.

The Columbia-Washington infrastructure project, for example, is still up in the air in terms of the actual cost, so as Coun. Kathy Moore suggested, we really have no idea what it could actually be.

The city should have that information in the next few weeks.

There is also the potential for a partnership with the school district, still being pursued by the city, that could add a potentially  small, but still significant, sum to municipal taxes.

Another potential increase could come from the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary, which Rossland pays into, as it is suggesting a hospital reserve fund be set up.

The thinking behind this is that there will be upcoming expenses in the future of Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital, things like upgrades and new equipment that will come up. This would allow it to be ready.

The city also supports numerous groups in the city, such as the Kootenay Columbia Trail Society, not only in the direct grant of $19,000, but also through the regional district, with another $11,000.

From the group that showed up at council, it’s evident that there is a lot of support for this and other groups.

Council will begin meeting to work out the budget next week. It will have a lot to wrestle with to keep any increases to the already relatively high taxes of Rossland to a minimum.