The town of Grand Falls-Windsor, like all municipalities across the province, is trying to balance soaring inflation with the revenue collected through taxation.

This is the time when towns are preparing their municipal budgets for the coming year, and this year comes with added challenges. The cost of delivering services has jumped dramatically over the last year thanks to rising fuel prices and inflation that is affecting everything from construction materials to office supplies.

Grand Falls-Windsor Mayor Barry Manuel says while they want to avoid tax increases, that may not be possible.

He expects many municipalities may be in the position of having to raise taxes in the coming year because of rising costs, “but for us, we’re not at that point yet, and we certainly hope to avoid it”.