Jasper tax bills will see a two per cent increase for 2010, which is in line with the town’s budget projections.

“There has been a modest assessment growth, but it won’t have a significant effect. Homeowners will see a less than two per cent increase on their tax bills,” said town manager George Krefting.

The town received its assessment notice on March 2, and will calculate tax rates this week.

The slight increases that did occur in terms of real growth came on the residential side, which came as no surprise to the town.

“Our projections were reasonably close,” Krefting said. “We had modest real assessment growth in residential areas.”

Director of Finance Alice Lettner said there was a slight change to the municipal portion of the Evergreens bill, however there was nothing out of the ordinary.

While the town average will be two per cent, that doesn’t mean every home will see the same increase. Homes in town appreciate and depreciate at different rates.

Helping the tax rate is the fact the education requisition was lowered, down to 2.9 per cent. That could lower the increase for some homeowners to less than two per cent.

The town also received notice from Municipal Affairs minister Hector Goudreau that they will receive $1.3 million in MSI funding for 2010. That means there will be no changes to the capital budget at this point, as the town will now move ahead with work on the Activity Centre, the library and several other projects.

“There was some luck involved in that one, but (MLA) Robin Campbell lined me up with the Minister’s director, and we made our projections based on what he told us in November,” Krefting said.

Mayor Richard Ireland praised town staff for their work, which allowed them to come so close to budget projections.

“To come within $4,000 of a $1.3 million budget when there was so much uncertainty is unbelievable,” Mayor Ireland said.

The number is still far less than originally promised to the town. Three years ago, when MSI funding was announced, Jasper was supposed to receive $2.4 million in 2010 for capital projects. The province still says it will provide the full amount promised, just not this year, Krefting said.

“With the economy going down, there was a lot of uncertainty,” Krefting said. “But with this news, there should be no changes to the capital budget.

The MSI funding will pay for new public washrooms on Hazel Ave., however they aren’t set for completion until August. Coun. Ralph Melnyk asked if there was any way to move the date up in order to catch the tourist season. However Acting Environmental Services manager Don Pickle said that was unlikely.

The town will also spend $55,000 on recycling bins with MSI funds. Mayor Ireland also asked if there was a chance to speed up distribution of the bins in order to keep citizens composting, and reduce the load to the landfill.

Pickle said the bins are being custom-made, and won’t be available until later this year.

Mayor Ireland said he’s concerned that some residents have stopped composting because it’s become too difficult in town.