The Town of Bonnyville has started their 2019 budget deliberations.
During their regular council meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 23, assistant CAO Bill Rogers presented the first drafts of the operational and capital budgets for council to consider.
“As with every year at this time, this is the first draft of the budget. We’re going to see deficits of some kind that we’re going to be able to go over the next couple of months,” Rogers noted.
The first look allowed administration to share some options to handle the deficits, while encouraging council to discuss other possibilities.
An open house will be hosted to allow residents to go over the plans on Dec. 4 at 6 p.m. in town council chambers.
Operational budget
The 2019 operational budget has aa deficit of $819,561.
Reduced revenue of $319,459 was due mainly to not using the Regional Community Development Agreement (RCDA) when balancing the budget.
Other revenue areas with minor decreases include RCMP fines, parking fees at the airport, farmland taxes, bulk water, and planning and development fees.
Overall expenses for the town have increased by $122,798.
An increase of $20,000 was added to the councillors’ salaries for 2019, which raised the overall price tag to $284,417.
A request for an additional RCMP contract resulted in $149,000 being added to the budget line, bringing the cost for policing services up to $1.6-million.
After a request from the SPCA for additional funding in order to keep their doors open, $50,000 was added to the budget for the next three years.
Streetlight power also increased. This budget item saw a jump of $41,750. In 2018, the cost was about $355,000. This year, the same service is estimated at $396,750.
Salaries and wages for the airport were raised by $39,382, for a total $67,856.
Mayor Gene Sobolewski was intrigued to see how the carbon levy would impact the town’s costs.
“It would be interesting to see how much of an increase there will be from 2017 to 2019 as a result of the carbon tax.”
Suggestions made to balance the budget included moving the town census to 2020, cutting back on community events and donations, raising property taxes by two per cent, and increasing fees for water, sewer, garbage and recycling by two per cent.
One of the recommendations that stood out for Coun. Elisa Brosseau was cutting back on the number of charity events councillors attend.
“I agree on doing some cut backs on the golf galas... Maybe that’s something we can talk about going forward. What stipulates a golf tournament that we should go to, and what things we should be supporting... Maybe, that will help us not spend as much money in that area,” she detailed.
The general operating reserve, which could be used to help balance the budget, sits at around $982,000.
Capital budget
The overall deficit for the 2019 capital budget was $35,000 without the cost of other items and expenses that haven’t been identified.
While upgrades to the airport landing, parking, and taxiway had about $40,000 in financial support through the airport reserve, the redevelopment plan costs have yet to be determined. Security, animal fencing, and heated equipment storage were held off until the plans are finalized.
The town also deferred the purchase of lights, cameras and garbage receptacles for the Notre Dame High School parking lot. This project had an expected budget of $25,000.
Council has $50,000 allocated to the North Point upgrades,. The goal is to have engineers confirm what needs to be done in order to address the storm water problems. The latest assessment had a price tag of $9-million for a completed project, which is why it has been deferred until 2020.
The cost of cosmetic exterior building upgrades for the Bonnyville Parent Child Centre were put off until 2019, though no number was included in the first draft of the budget.
Funding for an off-leash dog park was slotted in, coming in at around $39,000.
Adding a washroom and upgrading the parking lot at the splash park had a price tag of $150,000, which was a project carried over from 2018. While funds for trail upgrades weren’t available in the draft, the replacement of playground equipment, which should be scheduled every 10 years, was included with a budget of $50,000.
Pending council review of the capital spending plan is an expansion to the local library. The town has allocated $1.5-million towards the project.
The C2 capital fund saw an increase of $300,000 to complete renovations on the RJ Lalonde Arena, including taking out the west wall to replace them with glass and upgrades to one of the entrances.
The general capital reserve is expected to be approximately $900,000 by the end of 2019.
A new pool was discussed, specifically if a new facility would be required or if the current one would be modernized. About $1.2-million was included for 2019 to complete the “should-do” items as outlinedby the engineering study and assessment.
Rogers noted that a significant amount from the capital funding would need to go towards a new pool, if that’s the way that council wants to go. The hope is for the aquatics centre committee to provide some direction.
A motion was required on the town’s capital budget for the funding to the Bonnyville Regional Fire Authority (BRFA) ambulance purchase, because they needed a commitment of funds in order to move forward.
Draft two will be presented to council during their regular meeting on Nov. 27 before the open house on Dec. 4.
