Cambridge budget committee looking at higher than expected tax increase
Posted Nov 15, 2017 02:10:54 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Residents in Cambridge could be facing a higher than expected property tax increase.
Cambridge City staff say right now, the City is looking at a 5.78 per cent increase for home owners.
This would mean an additional $80 for the average homeowner.
Chair of the city’s budge task force, Councillor Mike Mann says they will get that number lower, “Residents are holding our feet to the fire with the three year forecast.” Said Mann, adding “we said the budget the 2018 budget would be 4.2 per cent when we set the three year budget back in 2015.”
The city has a few high cost items that have driven the numbers higher.
Mann points to the new fire station and firefighters to be added next year, and says the new contracts for the cities inside and outside workers signed this year were a bit higher than expected.
But despite these costs Mann says they have some wiggle room.
“It starts with the committee looking at everything we do and seeing if there are efficiencies that can be gained, and hopefully we can get it as close to 4.2 per cent as possible.”
The city is hosting budget feedback sessions on November 27th and 30th at Cambridge City Hall.
