Sheenboro, Litchfield, Portage-du-Fort, Thorne and Otter Lake budget overviews

Brett Thoms
Pontiac January 28, 2023
Continuing THE EQUITY’s round-up of municipal budgets across the Pontiac, here are overviews of Sheenboro, Litchfield, Portage-du-Fort, Thorne and Otter Lake budgets.

Sheenboro
This year Sheenboro’s budget is $1,483,770, with revenue balancing out expenses. This is up $132,102 from 2022’s budget. The mil rate, (the amount of tax payable per $100 of the assessed value of a property) is up 2 cents from 2022, at 56 cents per $100 of property value.
Total revenue from property taxes is projected to be $534,527 with the remaining $215,152 being made up by service taxes for waste management, fire and police services.
Sheenboro is also receiving a total of $546,755 in transfers from the provincial government.
Major expenditures include transportation, at $447,964, general administration at $330,670 public security at $165,641, and environmental health at $106,287.
The municipality appropriated $105,702 of its surplus to balance the budget.

Litchfield
Litchfield posted a budget of $2,539,853 for 2023, with revenue balancing out expenses, up from the $1,630,853 it was in 2022. The mil rate has also increased by 2 cents from last year, hitting 63 cents per $100 of property value.
Transfers from the provincial government was higher than tax revenue, at $1,327,064.
Total tax revenue for the municipality is $910,407.
Major non-investments include transportation, at $543,496, general administration at $467,791 public security at $209,455, and environmental health at $115,876.
Mayor Colleen Larivière described the $1,015,495 of money allocated to investment priorities as being targeted towards a few main projects, mainly funded through grants. The most will go towards road improvement, with one notable project being the installation of new guardrails in around eight different locations.
Larivière also described the Litchfields plan to retro fit the municipal garage, which will include installing a new roof, more efficient windows and new lights.
She described the main project this year as the effort to secure funding for thew construction of a new fire hall in partnership with Campbell’s Bay.
If an application for a grant for the project goes through, 90 per cent of the cost of the project will be covered by a grant.
Litchfield appropriated $236,004 of its surplus to balance the budget.
Portage-du-Fort
Portage-du-Fort posted a $1,231,118 budget for 2023, with revenue balancing out expenses, up from $823,229 in 2022. The mil rate is up 5 cents from 2022, hitting $1.05 per $100 of property value. Total tax revenue is $505,205, slightly down from $510,429.
On the other hand, transfers from the government of Quebec have almost doubled, going from $273,428 in 2022 to $515,342.
Revenue from service charges per household for garbage, recycling, fire protection and water have all slightly increased from last year.
Major non-investment expenditures include transportation, at $92,792, general administration at $219,361, and environmental health at $141,028.
It terms of investment priorities, Portage plans listed $588,086 in investing activities, mainly funded through grants. Some projects include the installation of a new fire hydrant, the potential demolition of a few buildings, the repairs of the municipal office.
Portage-du-Fort didn’t appropriate any of its surplus to cover the balance the budget, being the only municipality THE EQUITY covered so far not to do so this year.

Thorne
Thorne has a budget of $2,194,516, with revenue balancing out expenses for 2023, up from $1,897,438 in 2022. The mil rate has increased 3 cents this year, to 63 cents per $100 of property value. Total tax revenue is $904,696, up from $867,400 in 2022. Thorne’s revenue is also supplemented by $937,706 in transfers from the province, representing a larger share of income than taxes, up from $784,923 in 2022.
Major non-investment expenditures include transportation, at $541,209, general administration at $470,177, public security at $262,406, urban planning and regional development at $102,158 and environmental health at $111,260.
Thorne appropriated $246,474 of its surplus to balance the budget.

Otter Lake
Otter Lake posted a budget of $3,844,378 for 2023, up from $2,555,515 in 2022. The mil rate stayed the same, resting at 62 cents per $100 of property value. Otter Lake will bring in $1,504, 288 in total from property tax revenue and $1,427,750 from various transfers from the province.
Major non-investment expenditures include transportation, at $1,911,317, general administration at $700,839, public security at $456,815, and environmental health at $342, 236.
Otter Lake appropriated a surplus of $175,000 to balance the budget.
All the budgets can be viewed online on the municipalities’ websites.
THE EQUITY will follow up with the budgets for Fort-Coulonge, Mansfield-et-Pontefract, L’Île-du-Grand-Calumet and Bryson in the coming weeks.