To the editor:
On June 29, 2015 Castanet published a letter from Mr. Guy Bissonette indicating that the District of Lake Country incurred a 5.14 per cent tax increase. Mr. Bissonette’s letter suggested that the District added the funding for the rail corridor to the overall 3.13 per cent tax increase resulting in a 5.14 per cent increase.
As chief financial officer for the District of Lake Country this representation is simply not correct. The District of Lake Country had a 3.13 per cent tax increase and included within the tax increase was partial funding for servicing of the rail corridor debt ($60,000). Full servicing of the debt will be required in 2016; Therefore in 2016, the budget will include an additional increase of approximately $107,000 to fund the final amount required to service the debt. This additional money will be part of any increase requested in 2016 as part of the overall budget considerations.
Lake Country encourages property owners to follow the budget process and to stay informed. Information on all requests for funding can be found in the budget document. The 2015 document is on the District website at
https://lakecountry.civicweb.net/document/45282/2015%20Budget%20-%20Final.pdf
Respectfully,
Rose Bronswyk Kassa, CPA, CMA,
chief financial officer,
District of Lake Country