Nearly 5% township tax hike for South Stormont ratepayers

(Newswatch Group/File)

LONG SAULT – South Stormont taxpayers are going to have to dig deep to pay their taxes this year.

The township council passed its budget last week with a tax increase of 4.99 per cent.

In a news release to local media, the municipality took credit for the 2 per cent reduction in taxes at the county level, calling it a “blended tax rate” of 2.99 per cent. The township collects the county taxes and then remits it to the upper-tier government.

For a South Stormont homeowner, it will mean an extra $46.15 a year for a home valued at $217,000 ($970 in 2019 for the township portion of taxes versus $923 in 2018). With a reduction of $25.67 at the county level, the overall increase would be $20.48.

That doesn’t include any increase or reductions based on the value of your home (municipal assessment) and it also doesn’t include education taxes.

The township plans to collect about $6.8 million in taxes this year – roughly $527,000 more than in 2018.

South Stormont staff call the budget “reasonable and affordable” to maintain “increasing service requirements” due to township growth and municipal downloading of services.

South Stormont’s capital work this year includes a pedestrian crossover on Dickinson Drive, finishing the landscaping of Ingleside Park and upgrades to the Long Sault Arena.