The City of Corner Brook is getting rid of its poll tax in the 2020 budget, which was tabled Monday night.

Mayor Jim Parsons said the move has been in the works for years, adding the tax has unfairly targeted young people and residents with lower incomes.

The process of collecting the poll tax was less than ideal, Parsons said, and more hassle than it was worth.

"It was a mess. It was a complete mess," Parsons said.

"And really it was a double tax. People who are renting often pay property tax and levies as part of their rent anyway."

Parsons said landlords build their rental fees around the costs of owning a property and include fees like rental tax, for example, and since a tenant already pays rent, they already contribute to the tax base.

I think it's terrible for a city to have a tax that disproportionately affects young people. - Mayor Jim Parsons

"It's a tax that's, in my opinion, a very regressive tax — really a double tax on those who can least afford it, those who are renting, basically," he said, adding that the first steps involved a gradual increase of the exemption limit so more people qualified.

"Eliminating the people who are least able to pay it first, and then making the limit higher and higher. Now at this point we've reached a tipping point where the revenues we get from it aren't worth the administrative burden and we can manage to deal without the revenue."

In the city's push to attract more young people to Corner Brook, Parsons said the poll tax was counterproductive.

"It's something that many of us have seen as unfair, but I think that it's something that should signal to young people, especially, we want you here," he said.

"Symbolically, I think it's terrible for a city to have a tax that disproportionately affects young people. And we know from our demographics right now we need young people."

Looking for efficiencies

The council tabled its balanced budget Monday night, at more than $36 million — just over $800,000 more than the previous year.

There will be no increases to property tax, business tax rates or water and wastewater rates in the 2020 budget.

Parsons said the city doesn't expect "any obvious cuts to services," adding they're looking at how it can save money instead.

"Little things like, we saved over $100,000 in electricity costs alone by looking for efficiencies without our own operations. We're always trying to identify those types of opportunities so we can make our dollar go further," Parsons said.

"Of course it's hard. Our energy costs are rising … so we always have to sharpen our pencil and find new sources of revenue as well. Ultimately we need to expand our economy and make sure we have a tax base that can accommodate our needs as a city."

There is an emphasis in the budget on enhancing the city's offerings to tourists, as outlined in the recent strategic tourism for areas and regions report.

That includes motorized and non-motorized trail development, festivals and events, downtown revitalization, as well as looking further into pocket parks and green spaces in the downtown area.

The city will also be finding money to purchase the Mill Whistler Street Train because of its "overwhelming success," with more than 20,000 taking a ride on the train this year.

The street train will stay, as the 2020 budget states the city will purchase it outright. (Lindsay Bird/CBC)

A number of ongoing capital projects will need addressing, as well, Parsons said, including a big project on O'Connell Drive.

"There's a large culvert replacement job that's going to require partial shutdowns of O'Connell Drive, could be very disruptive. We're trying to figure out the best way to deal with it," Parsons said.

"The situation seems worse than what it was when it was assessed a few years ago. In addition, of course, there is the roundabout project that was approved last year through the federal-provincial money and this year again we'll hopefully get a big chunk of that accomplished."

Parsons said the city will have to push for provincial and federal money, as well, to help pay for wastewater infrastructure to bring Corner Brook in line with new federal regulations.

The request for money from the province and Ottawa happens every year, Parsons said.

"Hopefully we'll be successful in securing as much money as possible because we know we need help with infrastructure," he said.

"We have an aging infrastructure. Our city has a diverse set of infrastructure, going from fairly new to fairly old, and so we have a laundry list of things to accomplish."

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