Eastern Charlotte has passed its budget for 2025 with dissent from only one councillor.
Similarly to other local areas in Charlotte County, Eastern Charlotte saw its assessment base grow by 8.9 percent.
The council passed a general operating budget of $6,942,479, an increase of about 6 percent over 2024, according to a town release.
It passed two utility budgets, including Blacks Harbour and St. George, at a total of $609,908 and $979,860, respectively.
Several councillors presented motions to pass the general operating budget, the tax rates, and the utility budget.
Coun. Alexa Detorakis said during the meeting she didn’t want to vote blindly on the budget.
“To me, this budget report looks very vague, I’m looking for something with more detail, more explanation to where money is going and why,” she said. “The current budget report is too vague. If I cannot explain to a person on the street how this budget is being broken down, well, then I simply can’t support it.”
The Local Governance Act requires the budget to be submitted to the Department of Local Government by Nov. 15, but many municipalities have missed that deadline given the property assessment numbers were late due to the provincial election.
There is a 30-day grace period in which councils can debate and pass the budgets.
It set the tax rates as follows:
- Beaver Harbour – $0.38 per $100 of assessment
- Blacks Harbour – $1.141 per $100 of assessment
- Fundy Bay – $0.38 per $100 of assessment
- Pennfield – $0.38 per $100 of assessment
- St. George Rural – $0.38 per $100 of assessment
- St. George Former Town – $1.27 per $100 of assessment
- Second Falls/Bonny River – $0.38 per $100 of assessment
- St. Patrick – $0.38 per $100 of assessment
All tax rates saw a decrease apart from Pennfield and St. Patrick – which both increased.
Other budget highlights
The council says it continues to see a reduction in the community funding and equalization grant – like many other municipalities – who are now taking on more responsibility and larger areas.
For 2025, the Municipality will receive $445,302 from the CFEG, a reduction of more than 38 per cent.
Services to the Southwest New Brunswick Service Commission totalled $686,184, which the municipality said is on par with the year prior.
The mandated services are landfill operation, local planning, building inspection, regional economic development, tourism promotion, and regional transportation.
Eastern Charlotte decreased the budget for fire service by about 3.27 per cent, while RCMP services were totalled at $2.2 million, about a 3.4 percent increase. It also allocated about 8.8 percent more to animal control.
The council has decided to also increase the water rates in St. George by $11, but are holding the water rates in Blacks Harbour due to ongoing issues with repairs.
Water rates for St. George at $557, while Blacks Harbour stays at $496 per year.
Water in Blacks Harbour has been reported to be discoloured and filled with sediment. Coun. Adam Hatt, who represents the ward, has been vocal about the issue which has plagued the community for many years.
Connors Brothers, a fish packing and processing plant, has owned the water supply since the town was formed, but efforts by the municipality to either take over the infrastructure or find a new water supply have been ongoing.
The council has also maintained incentives for housing development.
About $200,000 has been set aside for those incentives and an additional $513,000 has been set aside for improvements such as road construction and acquiring larger assets.
The public works and recreation budget has increased by 5.85 per cent, totalling $864,267.
“Overall, 2025 looks to be a promising year with several new projects on the horizon for the municipality, as well as long-awaited housing projects finally coming to our area,” said Mayor John Craig in the release.