It’s that time of year, when governments are putting the finishing touches on their budgets, and putting in motion the plans they have for the forthcoming year.
Already the federal government announced its budget on Feb. 11, and the Town of Westlock passed its budget two weeks later on Feb. 25.
Westlock County and the Village of Clyde should be unveiling their budgets by the end of the month.
What was new this year, and a welcome addition with designs on increased governmental accountability, was the Feb. 27 open house at the Westlock Rotary Spirit Centre.
It’s the first time the town has held such an event to show off its budget once it’s been approved.
But, it’s not the first municipality in the area to do so — both Westlock County and Barrhead County have been holding similar open houses for years. Although the counties’ forums have slightly different formats and end goals in mind, the fact remains they have been providing a forum for residents to go over the numbers for years.
Holding a forum to allow residents to review the budget department by department offers many advantages over the way things used to be done, and also gives a strong message about what the municipality views as its priorities.
Those advantages include allowing residents who may be most affected by the budget’s contents an immediate opportunity to see just how they will be affected, as well as giving them a chance to speak to councillors and staff right then and there.
What better way to be open and accountable than to put oneself out there within hours of passing a document that will affect the lives of thousands both this year and in years to come?
In terms of the message the open house sends, any time an organization that is beholden to the public at large willingly opens its doors to allow for scrutiny, it speaks to confidence in the system.
But perhaps more tellingly, it speaks to the desire not to hide any dirty laundry.
The voting public is often much more wily than it’s given credit for, and when presented with the facts in plain English and easy-to-follow diagrams, it will often pick up on little things that governments wouldn’t expect.
So to the town, we must offer kudos for taking that step towards a total open-book policy.
