The City of Brandon has sent out its proposed 2024 municipal budget, and is looking for input.
In a release city officials said the budget will need to raise $5.3 million in municipal taxes, meaning an 11.2 per cent increase in revenue. This would look like a 10 per cent increase in Brandon residents’ property tax bill.
Together, the proposed general and utility budgets are $137.8 million, and the proposed capital plan is $125.1 million, which includes $35.9 million in federal and provincial grant funding, officials said.
A series of major projects are included in the proposed capital budget, the most expensive being $24.7 million for a new water treatment facility expansion. Among multi-year projects, upgrades at the Brandon Community Sportsplex are expected to cost the most, ringing in at $4.4 million, it said.
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With the creation of new positions at the City of Brandon, officials said there will be a $6.7-million increase to salary expenses, “some of which will be recovered by grants from other levels of government.” This includes 15 paramedic positions fully funded by Shared Health, and 14 police positions “funded in part with the provincial urban policing grant.”
The City Council will be looking over the budget on Feb. 2-3. These meetings will be open to the public and livestreamed on the city’s YouTube Channel as well as on Westman Communications Group TV’s channel 12.
Proposed budget documents can be viewed on the City of Brandon website, and comments or feedback on the proposed 2024 budget can be emailed to: budget@brandon.ca.