ATHABASCA – The Town of Athabasca has received another “clean” bill of financial health, according to the 2022 financial report presented to town councillors at their April 4 meeting.
Councillors unanimously accepted the 26-page report, which was presented by Scott Mockford representing the town’s auditors, Doyle and Company Chartered Accountants.
Mockford praised the municipality for how easy they made the process, noting that the audit “went really well.”
“You’ve got a very competent staff, they do a good job, and we didn’t have any issues in terms of requesting and getting what you need,” he said.
According to the document, Athabasca accumulated roughly $180,000 more in revenue than expected to in 2022 to reach $8,198,158 instead of the projected $7,922,382.
But expenses were also higher than budgeted, with the town spending $9,363,248, instead of the $8,866,295 that led to a total operating deficit of $1.165 million.
Mayor Rob Balay says that the town is in a “pretty good position" despite running over budget, noting that the cost-overrun was partially due to money that they had received under the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), which the Canada Revenue Agency later deemed they did not qualify for.
“We knew that because of the town having to pay back some of the CEWS money to the government over the multiplex, we would be over the budget, but there was a sound reason for that,” he said.
The town partly covered the $1.165 million deficit using $571,000 in provincial transfers which reduced it to $594,017.
Further details
Mockford’s report included a further breakdown of the municipality’s overall financial position.
He noted the town had about $500,000 more in cash in 2022 than the year prior, although Mockford did say that this is a number that fluctuates.
Overall, the municipality had a slight decrease of about $290,000 in their financial assets, ending 2022 with $5,458,937.
The town had nearly $350,000 less in liabilities this year, although the $7,735,535 total was still $2.2 million more than their assets. This largely comes from the long-term liabilities, which shrunk from $6,401,752 to the year-end total of $6,085,219.
Mockford said the town did not take on any new debentures in 2022 and continued to pay off the four outstanding Alberta Capital Finance Authority loans.
Currently the municipality is sitting at just under 50 per cent of its current debt limit and could take on another $6,212,018 before hitting the cap imposed by the Municipal Government Act.
Athabasca’s non-financial assets depreciated to just under $36 million, coming in at $35,981,569. The non-financial assets make up the bulk of the town’s $33,947,924 surplus.
Cole Brennan, TownandCountryToday.com
