Now that votes to replace the downtown fire hall and the Four Seasons Pool have passed as a result of Saturday's referendum, city taxpayers will be on the hook to pay for those projects.
The city estimates the new $15 million fire hall will cost taxpayers $8.71 per year, per $100,000 of assessed value. On a home valued at $300,000, the cost of the fire hall will add $25.35 to the owner's property taxes. That's based on a 20-year loan at an interest rate of three per cent.
The $35 million cost of replacing the pool, which includes the cost of purchasing the Days Inn motel which now occupies the proposed site at 600 Quebec St., will add $19.71 per $100,000 of assessed value per year. On a $300,000 home, property taxes will increase $59.13 per year for the 20-year life of the loan to pay for the pool.
Combined, the two new buildings will add $84.48 onto the property tax bill for an individual who owns a property assessed at $300,000.
Had the pool replacement project not been passed, the city's aquatic needs assessment, completed in 2016, estimated the city would still have to spend $10 million on improvements to retrofit the pool to keep it operational.
