Although neither the town nor Athabasca County has had much time to look over the new provincial budget, both pleased with several aspects and taking a “wait and see” attitude towards others.
“We’re in a wait and see scenario. We’re looking at the overall economy, the price of oil,” said town chief administrative officer (CAO) Josh Pyrcz.
“We’re looking at potential diversification programs from the new government. We’re looking at the new tax scheme and we’re really waiting to see how that plays out in the local economy.”
The budget itself, isn’t likely to change much for either municipality during the current fiscal year, as there’s only five months left.
However, next year, there could be some positives, like the Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) funding staying the same.
“This means that the county will continue to receive its current portion of this funding,” said Athabasca County reeve Doris Splane.
“Fortunately, this budget provides for sustainability, helping us to continue proving services to residents at a level they are accustomed to receiving.”
Pyrcz added: “(The stability) means we can, at least, count on predictable sustainable funding from that point moving forward.”
Pyrcz was also happy with the reintroduction of the Summer Temporary Employment Program (STEP).
To him, this means the town may be able to hire “local or interested students” to work for them during the summer months.
“We’re looking forward to hopefully take advantage of it next year to bring in some more summer students to help our local youth to stay at home, work in town and, if they do plan to go abroad, to save up some money,” he explained.
Splane, on the other hand, was pleased with the decision to continue funding the agriculture service boards at 2015 levels.
“Given the difficult financial times we find ourselves in, the decision ... is positive as well,” Splane said.
“Athabasca County receives $165,000 in annual funding to provide services to producers in our region.”
