BONNYVILLE - The 2020 interim budgets for the Town of Bonnyville are in place.
While utility fees are expected to see a slight increase, council decided against a municipal tax increase until more is known regarding ID 349 funding.
After breaking down the numbers and taking into account the feedback gathered during the Dec. 3 open house, council passed the budgets during their regular meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 10.
Town looks at options to balance operational budget
Instead of including a municipal tax increase or cutting back on donations, council opted to transfer just over $525,000 from the general operating reserve to address the deficit.
The 2020 operational budget is balanced at $21.64-million.
As council will be discussing the topic further in the future, Coun. Brian McEvoy believes this was the best way for the municipality to move ahead.
“We’re doing this as we do every year just to satisfy the Municipal Government Act (MGA). It’s always adjusted before we have the final budget in April,” he said.
A 2.1 per cent utility fee increase was included to reflect inflation for water and sewage. The consumption fee for water will see a slight upswing from $2.46 per cubic metre in 2019 to $2.51 per cubic metre. The utility service fee will go from $12.37 to $12.63. Administration anticipates both of those will add additional revenue of $44,220. The monthly fixed rate for garbage also saw a change going from $12.64 to $12.90 in 2020, which will equal an extra $7,002 in operating revenue.
Compared to 2019, funding requests the town receives from local organizations and town facilities saw an increase of $27,000 to $93,500 in 2020.
The town has budgeted almost $2.25-million on police services.
The capital reserves for fire rose by $54,000 to $246,465 in 2020, due to the annual transfer for equipment replacement. Contracted costs for 911 operations went up by $39,000 to $116,961 due to Next Generation 911 being implemented.
The town’s expenses for water are $1.37-million, with $500,000 included for purchasing water from the City of Cold Lake when the regional waterline is completed.
The amount the municipality puts toward powering streetlight is expected to see an increase of $23,250 from the 2019 final budget to $420,000 in 2020, which is due to the number of streetlights the town is responsible for maintenance and covering the cost for power, which is going up in 2020.
Due to the provincial government’s decision to eliminate funding for Parent Link Centres, there was only $30,309 in government grants included for 2020. The expenses for Parent Link are expected to decrease by $90,927 to $30,309 in 2020 as a result.
Under economic development, business licenses are expected to bring in $80,000 and expenses are sitting at just over $26,000 for 2020.
There is a $30,000 decrease under parks for provincial and federal employment programs due to the elimination of the Student Temporary Employment Program (STEP), which saw the province covering part of the expenses for businesses and organizations to hire students over the summer.
Expenses for the library are at $461,183, a decrease of roughly $18,200 compared to 2019.
When it came to other ways the town could have addressed the deficit, administration suggested refusing the $20,000 donation for the Duclos School playground, maintaining the funding made to Extreme Mudfest and the Bonnyville Friendship Centre at $2,500, and reallocating the C2 mill rate of just over $252,000 to a municipal mill rate for 2020.
Another option included a two per cent rise in municipal taxes.
“We know that council wasn’t a big fan of tax increases, however, we have to put all these options in front of you to consider,” explained assistant CAO Bill Rogers.
Deferring projects to balance the capital budget
The balanced interim capital budget was passed at $6.25-million.
The items delayed to address the previous shortfall included postponing a portion of the annual overlay program, and deferring the $1.5-million library expansion project and part of the pool infrastructure upgrades for just over $939,000. Work on the tennis courts for $30,000, the $30,000 fine arts feasibility study, and construction of the A&W crosswalk on main street, which was estimated to cost $200,000, were also put on hold.
Council’s decision eliminated the anticipated $4.6-million deficit, and also created a surplus of just over $76,000.
Due to the uncertainty surrounding ID 349 funding, Mayor Gene Sobolewski thought it was too early to be making significant changes that couldn’t be altered when the municipality comes back to discuss the budget in 2020.
“I have a meeting on Dec. 16 (about the funding), and if we get good news we would be passing the budget... and revisiting it anyway. Why don’t we defer it out until January or February, and then council can react in the new year to modification of the interim budget?”
Revenues are expected to drop by $9.80-million to $6.25-million in 2020. Roughly $4.76-million is due to the ID 349 money.
Administration is anticipating just over $1.9-million in provincial funds and roughly $2.15-million in funding from the MD of Bonnyville for the Intermunicipal Cooperation Program. Based on an estimate received on Dec. 3, MSI funding will increase by $749,470 for a total of $1.52-million.
Rogers noted there are many ongoing projects, and the price tag for those is currently unknown.
“The final expenditure amounts may have a bearing on the capital available for expenditures in 2020, and with ID 349 funding (from 2019) being unknown, we’re currently unsure if that funding will be in place for all the carry over projected,” he explained.
The budget didn’t include an anticipated deficit of $2.3-million that would be brought over from 2019 if the municipality doesn’t receive the ID 349 money.
Under the expenses side on the capital budget, $502,000 was included for the fire department and $25,000 for additional ambulance costs.
Just over $112,000 is budgeted for parks and sports fields, with $40,000 slated for solar powered security lighting along the Jesse Lake Trail.
Infrastructure replacement for public works has $2.95-million put toward it, with $2.13-million slated for construction happening on 47 Ave. from 48 St. to 42 St.
The town budgeted $240,000 toward work being done on commercial alleys and main street.
Expenses for administration saw a decrease of $15,000 due to the removal of the purchase of iPads for a census, which council opted not to do in 2020.
Administration is still waiting for cost estimates for reconnecting existing customers once the regional waterline is completed and for cosmetic upgrades on the Bonnyville and District FCSS building. Rogers noted those numbers would be included if the projects need to happen in 2020.
