Mayor Jeff Genung says the majority of people stopping at the pop-up on the town budget were accepting of the proposed property tax increase because of the infrastructure projects it includes.

On Saturday, Nov. 2, the town took its budget show on the road to the Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre (SLSFSC).

"I was expecting more of a push back on taxes going up slightly in the draft budget proposal," says Genung. "Most people seemed to be OK with spending a little bit more money as long they feel it's being spent in the right places.

"Traffic flow improvements is one of the main focuses of this budget," he continues. "People are overwhelming in favour of seeing some improvements there and are not opposed to paying a little bit more if that happens."

There is over $40 million in capital projects proposed in the budget. Beyond road improvements, it also includes the construction of a new protective services building, transit hub/innovation centre and the servicing of the future Horse Creek sports park.

The panels used for the popup are heavily focused upon the capital projects and gave people the opportunity to place a dot to express themselves, Columns ranged from strongly disagree to strongly agree.

None of the overviews focused upon the finer spending details by the town. That will be discussed, however, when town council holds its budget deliberations, Nov. 18-19.

With dwindling attendance, the town has discarded its more formal budget public meetings.

"For the amount of time and investment of staff to have just four or five people show up just didn't hit the mark. Coming to where the people are seems to be working and people seem to be eager to come and browse."

Genung says beyond discussing the budget, he sees being able to catch up with residents one-on-one on a range of issues is a valuable component of the pop-ups.

Genung was there for the duration of the pop-up. Councillors Alex Reed and Tara McFadden each took a shift.

The budget draft calls for a 2.95 per cent increase in property taxes for 2020. It also includes about a five per cent increase on water and storm sewer fees, about a four per cent increase in sewer fees and a 2.1 per cent increase in waste and recycling collection fees.

All in, it amounts to $106.68 more for a single-family dwelling assessed at $479,900.

The second and final pop-up event is being held Tuesday, Nov. 5 at SLSFSC from 4 to 8 p.m.

Residents can also provide feedback on the town's Let's Talk Cochrane platform.