The increase wasn’t the biggest problem they had, it was the fact they felt like they were pressured and had the wool pulled over their eyes.
That was the thought brought to Boyle’s village council meeting last Wednesday by councillor Dave Bencharsky and village chief administrator Charlie Ashbey after they went to the meeting of the Athabasca Regional Waste Management Services Commission (ARWMSC) and saw the organization’s 2015 budget approved on Dec. 8.
“First thing we heard was that the municipalities have nothing do with it, so we can’t turn down their budget,” Bencharsky explained to the rest of council.
“Then they put up the 2014 numbers they spent on a screen, rattled that off for half an hour, took lunch and then gave up the new budget, but none of us could remember the earlier numbers and they didn’t hand those out.”
Ashbey added the 2015 budget saw the deficit for the ARWMSC rise from slightly less than $1 million to more than $1.26 million or about 17 per cent. But it wasn’t about the numbers so much as it was the way they went about things.
“It felt like that it was imperative the directors approve the budget right then and there,” stated Ashbey.
“We couldn’t understand why it was presented the way it was. Normally, you get a budget that shows the previous year’s proposed and actual budget, then the proposal for next year and for the following two years. We didn’t get to really see the 2014 numbers.”
While Ashbey made the suggestion that council have the commission’s manager come to their next meeting and explain, Mayor Bob Clark would rather see Ashbey and the CAOs of Athabasca County and the Town of Athabasca meet together with the ARWMSC manager to get some answers.
“I would suggest the three of you sit down with him to clarify a few things,” Clark said.
The rest of council agreed, with all of them commenting that approving a budget in that manner could mean it may have to be revisited via a special meeting of the commission.
Lots of calls on RFP
In Ashbey’s report to council, he stated the office has received quite a number of calls regarding the request for proposals to construct the village’s new municipal centre and he’s hoping that will translate into a number of submissions.
“I have lost count of the number of calls we’ve taken already,” he said, indicating he will also be working on things over the holidays as the tenders will be closing soon and he wants to bring a recommendation to council’s next meeting.
Need to fight for hospital
Also in Ashbey’s report was a brief note on the Edmonton Journal articles last month about rural hospitals that should be closed, Boyle being one of the top three on their list. He stated he’d talked to both local doctors and heard from them they wouldn’t stick around if there was no full service hospital in the community. Ashbey added there has been no indication it will close, but that they need to be ready if that does come up.
Prelim 2015 budget set
Council was informed that the preliminary budget for next year has been completed and that a meeting to help determine the capital budget has been slated for early January. Council also approved an interim operating budget for 2015 at half of the 2014 operating budget.
The increase wasn’t the biggest problem they had, it was the fact they felt like they were pressured and had the wool pulled over their eyes.
That was the thought brought to Boyle’s village council meeting last Wednesday by councillor Dave Bencharsky and village chief administrator Charlie Ashbey after they went to the meeting of the Athabasca Regional Waste Management Services Commission (ARWMSC) and saw the organization’s 2015 budget approved on Dec. 8.
“First thing we heard was that the municipalities have nothing do with it, so we can’t turn down their budget,” Bencharsky explained to the rest of council.
“Then they put up the 2014 numbers they spent on a screen, rattled that off for half an hour, took lunch and then gave up the new budget, but none of us could remember the earlier numbers and they didn’t hand those out.”
Ashbey added the 2015 budget saw the deficit for the ARWMSC rise from slightly less than $1 million to more than $1.26 million or about 17 per cent. But it wasn’t about the numbers so much as it was the way they went about things.
“It felt like that it was imperative the directors approve the budget right then and there,” stated Ashbey.
“We couldn’t understand why it was presented the way it was. Normally, you get a budget that shows the previous year’s proposed and actual budget, then the proposal for next year and for the following two years. We didn’t get to really see the 2014 numbers.”
While Ashbey made the suggestion that council have the commission’s manager come to their next meeting and explain, Mayor Bob Clark would rather see Ashbey and the CAOs of Athabasca County and the Town of Athabasca meet together with the ARWMSC manager to get some answers.
“I would suggest the three of you sit down with him to clarify a few things,” Clark said.
The rest of council agreed, with all of them commenting that approving a budget in that manner could mean it may have to be revisited via a special meeting of the commission.
Lots of calls on RFP
In Ashbey’s report to council, he stated the office has received quite a number of calls regarding the request for proposals to construct the village’s new municipal centre and he’s hoping that will translate into a number of submissions.
“I have lost count of the number of calls we’ve taken already,” he said, indicating he will also be working on things over the holidays as the tenders will be closing soon and he wants to bring a recommendation to council’s next meeting.
Need to fight for hospital
Also in Ashbey’s report was a brief note on the Edmonton Journal articles last month about rural hospitals that should be closed, Boyle being one of the top three on their list. He stated he’d talked to both local doctors and heard from them they wouldn’t stick around if there was no full service hospital in the community. Ashbey added there has been no indication it will close, but that they need to be ready if that does come up.
Prelim 2015 budget set
Council was informed that the preliminary budget for next year has been completed and that a meeting to help determine the capital budget has been slated for early January. Council also approved an interim operating budget for 2015 at half of the 2014 operating budget.
