The United Counties of Prescott-Russell (UCPR) 2023 budget was approved during a special session of UCPR council January 11.
The final budget for operations and capital works totals $179,058,200, and includes a municipal property tax levy of $53,575,700. The levy is the money raised through property taxes to cover all operations and capital works expenses not covered through senior government grants and other revenue.
This year’s UCPR budget requires a 3.53-per-cent increase in property taxes to meet the municipal levy amount. For the average homeowner with a house and land valued at $277,000, this means $42 more on the UCPR portion of the property tax bill. Municipal, school district, and provincial property taxes make up the rest of the total tax bill.
The 2023 budget includes an increase to the UCPR Cultural Fund that provides money for the eight member municipalities to use to help support the projects and programs of local non-profit groups. The eight municipalities used to get $10,000 each from the Cultural Fund. That amount is increased to $60,000 each.
