ATHABASCA – The Town of Athabasca will be holding a community open house to discuss the proposed 2022 capital and operating budgets with residents Feb. 23 at the Multiplex.
Town council worked out the details at its Feb. 1 regular meeting, deciding that a 7 p.m. start time would allow enough time for a short presentation, some socializing and answering questions from those who attend before the facility closes at 9 p.m.
“We’ve discussed in our communications plans how we want to communicate better to the community as a whole. This is an opportunity to do that for what is probably the single most important thing we do as a council — to create a budget and execute it,” said mayor Rob Balay.
“I want to make sure that we present not just capital projects for 2022 but what our 10-year plan looks like and how we arrived at the capital projects we did for 2022. I want to be able to explain all that and to be able to answer questions.”
The mayor also said he would like to see a breakdown of the utility rate increase (passed in the previous agenda item) per household to be able to share that with attendees as well, as it’s sure to draw questions.
“What I'd like to see along with percentage numbers, are numbers that would equate to a monthly increase for the average house. I want to make sure that we have that at the open house because it's a lot easier for people to understand how much this really costs,” said Balay.
CFO Jeff Dalley said off the top of his head it would be about $3 per house per billing.
Council agreed to rent the space for four hours and to provide refreshments, and further went on to discuss alternative plans should COVID come into play once again. The presentation itself will also be discussed further at a scheduled budget meeting Feb. 8.
“Maybe for the small presentation, administration would present that, and all questions would be answered by the mayor and councillors because we’re the ones that are responsible for the decisions made,” said Balay.
The Multiplex is currently participating in the Restrictions Exemption Program (REP) which requires an up-to-date vaccination status, an approved test result from the previous 72 hours, or a legitimate note from a doctor.
Restrictions may be lifted by that time, but if the COVID situation happens to get worse, or restrictions are tightened, Balay said the meeting could be conducted virtually with a PowerPoint presentation but he wasn’t confident attendance numbers would be anywhere near what they would be in-person.
Precise details will be advertised closer to the meeting, but council also discussed allowing entry prior to 7 p.m. to allow for residents to view the tables, charts and other illustrations that will also be set up at their leisure.
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