The RM of Macdonald Council has put forward their 2016 financial plan and annual tax rates. It was unveiled at this week's meeting of council, with a tax increase of about 2 per cent for the municipality. While Reeve Brad Erb describes it as a modest increase, he says some will feel the burden more than others.

"It's going to have an impact because of the assessment changes, and how it's allocated for sure. Farmland is going to see an increase in taxes compared to last year. For the most part, residents on the municipal side will see even, or lower taxes that what they were paying last year."

Despite the challenges due to the assesses, Erb says they felt they were able to adequately address the municipality's needs, while also keeping a modest increase in taxes. When it comes to major capital projects in the coming year, Erb says they'll be conducting some cost-shared work in their urban centres.

"Some of the newer projects on the urban side relate to the parks and pathways, which we had received federal funding for. We're receiving 50 cents on the dollar, so we're doing some significant work this year in some of the towns related to that."

Erb says in the rural areas, the largest component of the budget is their ongoing road work. He notes graveling and maintenance always mark a large portion of their budget, noting drainage projects are a close second.