Bible Hill, Nova Scotia

2026 - 2027 Budget: Approved

Village Commissioners have adopted their 2026-27 fiscal budget, including $4.5 million in operating and capital spending, with property tax rates remaining unchanged.

The Village’s operating budget funds a range of local services in Bible Hill, including fire protection and prevention (fire station operation, hydrants, equipment, communications, training, fire truck fuel and repairs, and volunteer honorariums), administrative and maintenance staff, elected officials, insurance, seven school crossing guards, and various infrastructure maintenance. This involves more than 30 km of sidewalks (repairs, snow removal, and salting), crosswalk lighting and more than 550 streetlights, a sanitary sewer system, environmental monitoring, and local flood control measures.

It also supports recreation programming, special events, in-school initiatives, a community hall, maintenance of trails, playgrounds, a splash-pad, sports fields, and numerous green spaces.

The 2026-27 budget includes the following capital investments:

• $80,000 for new firefighting equipment for Bible Hill Fire & Emergency
• $1 million in sidewalk improvements, including approximately 60 new accessible curb ramps compliant with the new Nova Scotia Built Environment Accessibility Standard
• $50,000 in trail improvements, including fencing replacement
• $65,000 for engineering assessment and design for sanitary sewer system improvement
• $210,000 towards replacement of two maintenance vehicles with upfitted equipment

Revenue for the year is generated from:
• $3.5 million in property taxes and grants in lieu of taxes
• $216,000 from programming user fees, and rentals
• $20,000 in interest income
• $648,000 in transfers from other governments
• $98,000 from reserves (savings)

The budget also sets aside $170,000 for future needs:
• $102,000 for future fire apparatus purchases
• $20,000 for future maintenance vehicle purchases
• $28,000 to maintain a (legislated) operating reserve
• $20,000 for future accessibility-focused capital improvements

While property tax rates remain unchanged, individual tax bills will still increase due to rising property assessments. This can result from factors such as new construction, renovations, reassessments, or removal of the assessment cap following the sale of a home. Overall, Bible Hill has experienced 7.3% growth in total taxable assessment this year. For properties under the Capped Assessment Program (CAP), residential assessment increases are limited to 2.6%, based on the Nova Scotia Consumer Price Index (i.e. inflation). As service delivery costs continue to rise, Commissioners, who live in community, remain mindful of balancing resident service expectations with affordability.

The 2026-27 budget document is available at our office or online at:
https://biblehill.ca/.../bud.../2026-2027/663-2026-2027/file