KAMSACK — Kamsack Town Council plans to spend about $5 million in 2025, which requires an increase of the municipal mill rate from 9.5 mills to 10.5 mills.
Adopting its budget, council decided to keep the base tax at $1,100, which was the same as 2024. In addition, there is a special levy of $500, which directly pays for the loans and interest of the community, totalling $478,771.84 in 2025.
“In 2024, the goal of council and administration was nicety versus necessity,” said a release from Barry Hvidston, town administrator. “Is a project required, or do we want it for the sake of wanting it? The administration’s main task was to look at every expense that came through the municipality and determine if it was required. Throughout the year, there were enough cutbacks that we could put money into future capital.
“In 2025, the goal of council and administration was to continue down the nicety versus necessity philosophy, but include some long-term planning, including placing additional funds into capital reserves,” the release said. “Communities are never successful without looking into the future.
“Because 2025 is a reassessment year for the entire province, across the province, residential values increased six per cent and commercial values increased nine per cent. In the town of Kamsack, residential values dropped six to seven per cent and commercial values dropped less than one per cent on average,” it said. “Please note, this is an average and varies from property to property.
“The budget of 2025 is a very tight budget with an estimated $7,669.56 surplus. The revenues are expected to be $4,973,387.49, with the expenses expected to be $4,965,717.93.
“Public works’ budget is largely the same as previous years, sitting at $576,305. The Town is looking into a long-term plan for repairing/repaving some of the worst streets. Unfortunately, it will not occur in 2025. We are going to replace the culvert on Third Avenue between Decorby Street and Park Street at an estimated cost of $55,000. During the spring, this culvert has held water, causing issues for the road and occasionally house owners.
“We are also working with a new dust control company to apply product on the gravel roads in the north end of town. We anticipate that we will see savings while providing better product.
“The town owns $5.1 million worth of vehicles and equipment, with $2.3 million being in public works. A replacement plan was worked on, with money being set aside for their eventual replacement.
“In 2025, the budget for utilities and waste management is $1,454,528. This includes $482,000 for waste and recycle fees. By the end of 2025, all garbage and recycling will be taken to Yorkton instead of our landfill.
“To supply the Town with water, it will cost an estimated $698,404. Pump rebuilds, replacement of aging parts, and a new server are the main costs. There will be an upgrade for the bulk water crane by the Fire Hall so that it will only accept debit and credit cards.
“The Town is continuing with sewer programs where we repair manholes for $50,000 per year, sewer relining for $150,000 per year, and replacing fire hydrants for $17,000. In addition, four years are remaining on the loan for the water treatment plant from 2008 at a rate of $88,000 per year.
“The columbarium at the Riverview Cemetery is nearly full. There are multi-year plans to create a new area within the cemetery dedicated to a columbarium. The first phase will be to create a pad with the columbarium being placed in 2026.
“The recreation department budget is set at $828,007. This includes the Broda Sportsplex, sportsgrounds and other parks, pool, the OCC Hall, and Crowstand Centre. The Broda Sportsplex costs the town north of $300,000. To help with cutting costs at the Sportsplex, the Town has implemented a policy where the radiant heat above the stands is only turned on while people are using it, saving the town close to $2,000 per month in power and energy. The Town has also decided to bring the Broda Centre maintenance and operations under the umbrella of the town. We anticipate a savings of $15,000 to $20,000 per year, with the potential of the person hired moving to public works in the summer. A couple of furnaces are being installed in the curling rink for $55,000.
“The swimming pool is ready to go with a budget of $107,000, the library requisition and building costs the community $51,050 per year. The OCC has a budget of $56,500, including building a wheelchair washroom for approximately $30,000, in which we received funding through the Enabling Accessibility Grant.
“Protective Services has a budget of $517,577, which includes $170,116 for policing, $224,120 for fire protection, and $122,000 for bylaw enforcement. Included in this is a vehicle for bylaw enforcement, fire hall upgrades, and a budgetary increase in training and professional development costs.
“General government services has a budget of $577,740. This is a reduction from the previous year,” the release said. “The legal fees budget has increased to $30,000, audit is at $15,000, $22,000 to office repairs and upgrades, along with a new server, are the highlights in this area.
“The town has brought tax enforcement back into the hands of the administration. This will save the ratepayers money while providing more timely enforcement.
“To compensate for the loss in assessment and to pay for the expenses, the Town increased the mill rate from 9.5 mills to 10.5 mills while keeping the base tax at $1,100, which was the same as 2024,” it said.
