WESTLOCK — Westlock County councillors passed a stripped-down version of the 2024 capital budget at their Nov. 14 meeting, deferring or outright voting against several items and trimming the proposed $2.029 million budget down to just $986,000.
The original capital budget put forward by administration included a total of 11 projects, which would have been covered through a mix of $554,000 from capital reserves, $631,000 in grants, $160,000 from the sale of old equipment, and two debentures of $320,000 and $364,000.
This draft budget was originally presented to councillors at their Oct. 24 meeting, but they voted 5-2 to delay approving the budget in order to have more time to review the document.
During the Nov. 14 meeting, deputy reeve Ray Marquette requested that a recorded vote be held on each item in the budget.
The first item, and arguably the most controversial, was the $100,000 engineering and conceptual plan for a new administration building.
Coun. Stuart Fox-Robinson said he didn’t believe it was a good idea considering the state of the economy.
Coun. Jared Stitsen countered that they have been discussing the need for a new administration building since he’s been on council, but every time they talk about it, they say it’s not a good year to do it.
“When is it going to be a good year? Are we ever going to say, ‘This Is the year, let’s do it,’” asked Stitsen.
Pointing out that the county recently spent a considerable amount of money on renovations following the heavy storm that swept through Westlock in July, Stitsen said that if they waited too long, they will be back at this again and “throwing good money after bad.”
Reeve Christine Wiese said that before they spent $100,000 on a conceptual plan, she wanted to have further discussion about what kind of building they would construct and how much they would spend.
She pointed out that the difference between a $10 million project and a $250,000 building in terms of a blueprint would be considerable.
Eventually, chief administrative officer Tony Kulbisky recommended council defer the discussion around the engineering/conceptual plan until after a workshop on Nov. 21. Council agreed, and unanimously passed a motion to that effect.
Enforcement vehicle
The next three projects in the budget included $85,000 for outhouse replacement at Long Island Lake and Rainbow Park; $25,000 for upgrades to the Tawatinaw Valley ski chalet; and $30,000 for a flex wing mower replacement.
All three of these items would be paid for by withdrawing $140,000 from capital reserves, as well as $5,000 from the sale of the old flex wing mower. Council voted to approve these items unanimously.
The following item was more contentious — a new enforcement vehicle projected to cost $94,000, which would be paid for through an $89,000 withdrawal from reserves and $5,000 from the sale of the old unit.
Coun. Sherri Provencal asked if it would be possible to get a slightly cheaper enforcement vehicle.
Kulbisky responded that if council approved this item, they would conduct a request for proposals, and the resulting bids from dealerships could very well come in cheaper than the proposed $94,000 price tag.
An initial motion to approve the purchase was defeated 4-3.
After some discussion about whether the county could wait another year to proceed, Fox-Robinson put forward a motion to approve the purchase of the vehicle but to limit the withdrawal from reserves to $80,000.
That second motion passed 5-2, with Marquette and Coun. Francis Cloutier voting against.
Unit loader
The next two items in the capital budget were a new fire tender for the Jarvie fire department ($340,000) and a new light vehicle for fire and emergency services ($110,000).
The Jarvie fire tender would be covered through a $320,000 debenture and $20,000 from the sale of the old truck, while the new light vehicle would be funded by withdrawing $100,000 from reserves and another $10,000 from the sale of old equipment.
However, Kulbisky had previously recommended council delay purchasing both items until council could review its fire services policy again and decide what level of financial support the county is willing to give individual departments.
As such, council voted unanimously to defer both items.
Next up was the unit loader replacement, which was projected to cost $484,000. This would be paid for through $120,000 from the sale of the old unit loader and a $364,000 debenture.
A motion to approve the unit loader replacement was defeated 4-3, with Wiese, Marquette, Cloutier and Fox-Robinson voting against it.
Next up was $120,000 for an engineering plan relating to a hamlet improvement program, which would be funded out of reserves.
Fox-Robinson spoke in favour of this expense, pointing out that if the county doesn’t have an idea of what projects must be carried out in the hamlets, “how do we move forward?”
Ultimately, a motion to approve this expense was passed 6-1.
The last two items were $200,000 for the 2024 road rehabilitation program and $431,000 for the 2024 bridge rehabilitation program.
As these expenses were being funded through grants, council passed both of these items unanimously.
