ATHABASCA – Concerns over spending at the Athabasca Regional Multiplex was one of the major issues brought up at an open house hosted by the Town of Athabasca Feb. 22, with a former councillor comparing the facility to a 1980s horror movie.
“Every time to I come to these meetings, it reminds me of when I was teenager going to drive in movies to see The Blob,” said Mike Gismondi. “This (multiplex) is the blob that is eating our community. Almost all of our budget is coming to this building. We could have used a lot of money on the riverfront over the last 12 years, but it’s all coming here.”
Gismondi’s complaint spun into a suggestion that the town create a dedicated reserve for the Alice B. Donahue Library and the riverfront.
That was one of the more dramatic moments from the open house, where the town officials debuted their proposed operating and capital budgets for the 2023 fiscal year before a small but engaged audience at the multiplex — chief administrative officer (CAO) Rachel Ramey and chief financial officer (CFO) Jeff Dalley oversaw the presentation.
The budgets, which are still not finalized, would feature new incentives for both residential and non-residential development, climate-capacity programs, and address some challenges that the municipality is expecting to face throughout the year.
This year the proposed operating budget is around $11,140,000 and the capital budget is $1,300,000.
Around half of this year’s capital budget is being earmarked for public works projects: $350,000 for the Wood Heights road, $175,000 for the industrial park road rebuild, $35,000 to rehabilitate the sidewalk on 51st Street, $50,000 for the annual maintenance and repair of storm drains, and the annual vehicle and equipment allotment of $100,000.
A further $350,000 will be used for the Rupert Reservoir, although this funding is coming from a debenture — town council passed first reading of that borrowing bylaw at the Feb. 21 council meeting, with the second and third readings currently slated to be voted on March 23.
The sewer department will receive $200,000 for the Highway 55 and Highway 813 utility relocation, and the last $50,000 will go towards various projects at the multiplex.
Operating expenditures have also increased from 2022 to 2023, rising eight and a quarter per cent to a total of just over 11,100,000. Revenue has also increased, albeit a little less, rising just over six per cent to a total of $9,575,000 during the same time frame.
Dalley said the county expects to receive an almost equal amount from net municipal taxes, and from user fees and good sales. These combine for 99.52 per cent of the revenue, with the remainder coming from the $35,888 that is received from government transfers.
In a follow-up interview, mayor Rob Balay said he thought the event “went very well overall” although “it would have been nice to see a few more people, but those who did participate were very engaged.”
“The feedback we received was helpful, and we will take those comments into consideration for the future,” he said.
Regarding Gismondi’s comments, Balay acknowledged that “the multiplex is the hub of our community and does require a good portion of the budget” and they “always strive to find a balance that supports all areas of our community that includes both cultural and recreational aspects.”
New challenges
The town has identified several fiscal challenges that it will face in the upcoming fiscal year, the first being an increase in policing costs from $116,350 in 2022 to $174,652 in 2023. This number is projected to remain the same in 2024, although Ramey did note that they are still unsure as to the direction that the province is taking with policing. This increase will have a direct effect on residential tax rates.
The 2023 Capital Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI), a program that the province runs to help municipalities with capital projects, is estimated to be just $339,047, which is just under 25 per cent of the proposed capital expenditure. Furthermore, there is not expected to be an increase in the Canada Community Building Fund (also known as the Federal Gas Tax).
Community projects will also require more funding this year, as the community transportation project in particular will have its budget increased by 83 per cent. Coun. Jonathan LeMessurier stressed that this wasn’t actually a bad thing though; the increase in costs is almost exclusively due to a drastic increase in usage.
During an exchange with former mayor Lionel Cherniwchan that highlighted his deep belief that the users pay their fair share, LeMessurier stressed that the users are paying a “fair” portion of the fee, and that it had gone up in 2023. Some of the surrounding villages are also looking to take part in the program this year, which will provide an increase in its budget.
Lastly, Athabasca faces many of the same challenges that other small towns do; the infrastructure is aging, the price of water is rising, and inflation is going up again in 2023.
The town is taking steps to mitigate this, including a new $12.50 water distribution fee, and an increase to the franchising costs paid by all members in the community (which does include tax-free entities like schools and churches).
A more unique challenge for Athabasca is its higher-than-average portion of entities that aren’t taxed; when asked how many of the buildings in town were exempt from taxes, Dalley noted that while he didn’t have an exact number, he believed it was around 33 per cent, which is rather large for a community of this size.
Dalley said the two per cent increase on franchising fees was put in place to help accommodate this; often these institutions are heavy users of resources, and the fee can help smooth over this impact.
Not all doom and gloom
Despite these challenges, the town administration has identified a few avenues to help mitigate the fiscal hit.
Ramey said a system is being developed that will help prioritize infrastructure needs based on risk, the aforementioned usage fees on resources, and changes to policies that will help limit overtime for staff.
Finally, administration is going to ensure that they maintain a healthy debt limit, to ensure that in case of an emergency, the town will be able to borrow the money it needs to resolve it.
