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Westlock County passes $5.28M capital and 50 per cent interim operating budgets

Approvals come at Dec. 14 meeting following three-days of budget discussion Dec. 8-10
WES - county budget main
Westlock County councillors passed the municipalities capital and interim operating budgets at their Dec. 14 meeting.

WESTLOCK - Westlock County councillors have locked in a $5,288,240 capital budget for 2022, roughly $1 million less than what was originally proposed by administration and have directed the lion’s share of those dollars to the gravel program, which has been doubled to just over $2 million.

Councillors also pledged to hold the line on taxes, while unanimously approving an interim 50 per cent operating budget that if it remains unchanged, counts $900,000 more in revenues and expenses, but nearly $300,000 less in tax revenue versus 2021.

Following three days of budget meetings Dec. 8-10, councillors voted unanimously at their Dec. 14 regular meeting to pass the 2022 capital budget, as well as an interim budget of up to 50 per cent of the administrative and operational expenses for the upcoming year.

Although neither document was included in the meeting agenda package provided to the public, councillors said they were pleased with their work noting a pledge to not increase taxes, or take mandated pay raises as per county policy — the Westlock News did receive single sheets with the updated interim and capital budget figures Dec. 16.

“This has been the biggest issue of contention in this county for a while. Since 2016 we've had tax increases with really no end in sight and I’m very proud of the process and the work we did to get to a zero per cent mill rate increase for the first time in a while and even some people will see a decrease on their bills potentially,” said Coun. Isaac Skuban at the meeting. “This is the first budget I will vote in favour of since becoming a councillor. I still think there is work to be done, but I really appreciate council’s patience and wanting to pay for some strategic planning to make those hard decisions. I think we’re headed in the right direction.”

Coun. Stuart Fox Robinson, who made the motions to approve both budgets, agreed with Skuban and said they “should be proud of the work” they’ve done, while highlighting council’s decision to turn down a policy-mandated 4.7 per cent pay increase — not taking the wage hike will save the county $11,304.

“Council has worked very well together to get to the budget we have here,” he added.

While the interim operating budget has passed, both CAO Kay Spiess and reeve Christine Wiese said it would be premature to say the figures presented within will mirror the final budget that will be passed in the spring as assessment figures and expense costs still need to be nailed down.

“I think the budget is appropriate and I’m happy with how the process went and council did very good work. Administration brought a good package, council deliberated and did their job, so it went well from my perspective,” said Spiess in a follow-up interview Dec. 16.

“But just because we passed an interim budget doesn’t mean there can’t be changes in the spring. We will revisit the financial climate in the spring and make another recommendation for the final approved budget. The numbers come in cleaner in the spring and there are less assumptions. We know then what insurance and other costs are and we know what our assessment is.”

Wiese said with this hurdle cleared, council now wants to focus on strategic planning for future budgets, specifically around ways to promote economic growth.

“The last two years have been tough on all of the residents so we didn’t want to increase anything there. But there is a cost for not doing that and that means we do need to pull from other areas,” said Wiese in a Dec. 17 interview. “It’s very tough to budget when we don’t have a strategic plan in place. That’s going to be our focus … early in the new year get a strategic plan and focus on retaining and enticing new residents and businesses to the county. We need it, we need economic growth. That’s where our money needs to be focused.”

And while Spiess appreciated council’s rejection of a proposed mill rate increase, dwindling grants and rising expenses cannot be ignored.

“When we have more answers on our assessment, they will be able to take a look to see whether the mill rate changes or not. From a long-term planning perspective, the county cannot continue to do a zero per cent tax increase. We have a lot of uncertainties with the MSI program as it’s coming to an end in two years and we don’t know what that funding, or the new program will look like. That is one of the biggest grey areas we’ve been looking at,” said Spiess.

“I do believe next year’s budget will be harder for both administration and council and the county as a whole will be forced to look at service delivery itself and where we can find efficiencies, as well as looking for new revenue options and working with our regional partners on collaborating.”

For comparison the original budget presented by admin counted $20,815,292 in revenues and expenses, while the interim budget highlights $21,234,550 in both categories — notably, the updated version counts an additional $500,000 in conditional grants for 2022, which is $1.2 million more compared to 2021.

Spiess also said the budget includes $2.1 million for the gravel program, which had been originally budgeted at around $1 million. Of note, the county’s balanced 2021 operating budget counts $11,630,271 in municipal taxes, while the 2022 budget predicts they’ll only reap $11,339,745. The only other deletion of note from the operating budget was $44,560 less for the community grant program.

Capital budget highlights

The most notable change to the capital budget, originally tabbed at $6.349 million, was the removal of $780,258 for the shoulder pull program — those dollars are being moved to the operating budget for a gravel patch program.

Wiese said they talked about the pros and cons of the shoulder pull program before making their decision.

“The shoulder pull program is beneficial, but it’s still just maintenance, it’s not like you’re repairing roads. And you’re only doing 30 miles of roads and we’ve got way more than 30 miles of road in Westlock County,” said Wiese. “So we’ve added to the gravel program, specifically for a gravel-patch program. It should improve more roads throughout the county.”

Other deletions from the capital budget included a number of replacement three light vehicles and two trailers as Wiese said they’ll make due with the current fleet for at least the coming year.

“We’re going to focus on a maintenance program rather than replacements … it’s just us being responsible with the money. Right now it’s so expensive buying new vehicles,” said Wiese.

The biggest spend in the capital budget is the replacement of five graders at $475,000 per, while grants will cover the $874,182 tabbed for bridge rehabilitation program. While an updated funding breakdown was not provided in the new capital budget, the original document had the graders being funded via debentures, plus the sale of the old equipment.

Just under $700,000 is budgeted for work at the Tawatinaw Ski Hill, Long Island Lake Campground and Rainbow Park and will be funded by grants and capital reserves, while $500,000 will be pulled from reserves for the Highway 44/county industrial park intersection project.

Reserves will also pay for the replacement of the Village of Clyde tender, pegged at $275,000 ($90,000 less initially budgeted) and a new $200,000 gravel truck.

Forty new radios to allow the county to access the Alberta First Responders Radio Communications System comes with a $101,038 price tag, while a new tri-axle trailer is budgeted at $110,000. A new skid steer, $56,000, enhancements for Spruce Island Lake, $50,000, and the annual valve replacement program, also $50,000, round out the list to be funded from reserves.

George Blais, TownandCountryToday.com

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