PORT McNEILL – Property owners won’t pay more taxes this year. In fact, they will likely pay less, said Mayor Gerry Furney.
The tax rate in Port McNeill is not changing from last year and, unless a property’s value has increased significantly, the taxes should be about the same for 2011, said Furney.
But a $200 increase in the homeowner grant for residents of rural areas could mean a lower tax bill than last year.
“We looked at the 200 bucks for the homeowner grant,” said the mayor. ‘We decided to tell people they’ve got $200 in their jeans; we’re not going to take any of it.”
Other municipalities, including Port Hardy, have taken the opportunity to raise tax rates a bit and/or give some sectors, such as businesses, a break.
In Port McNeill, the regular tax rate for businesses is about 1.5 times that of residential, said Furney.
“We really can live without an increase as long as we continue to run things tightly.”