Staff
As town council and administration get ready to begin their bi-weekly budget meetings Feb. 6, it already looks like there will be some challenges ahead.
Council received the preliminary 2017 operating and capital budgets at its regular meeting Monday night, with the former indicating a $184,500 shortfall.
That shortfall doesn’t include any consideration for the Rainy River District Social Services Administration Board’s levy increase or decrease.
It also does not include any new capital long-term debt, the fire department’s post-retirement benefit unfunded liability of $222,343 as of Dec. 31, 2016, or any tangible capital asset amortization or any surplus/deficit for the 2016 year-end.
The operating budget for various town divisions has gone both up and down compared to last year.
The preliminary budget shows:
•a revenue decrease for the corporation in the amount of $246,575;
•a net increase of $78,634 for the Administration and Finance division;
•a net decrease of $269,355 for emergency services;
•a net increase of $66,526 for the Community Services division;
•a net increase of $118,817 for the Operations and Facilities division; and
•a net decrease of $56,697 for the Planning and Development division.
The $184,500 shortfall is calculated by adding together the corporate revenue decrease and the net increases, then subtracting the net decreases.
The preliminary capital budget, meanwhile, sits at $15,651,435.
At this point, the long-term debt of $3,405,155 is entirely for road projects and Public Works’ large equipment.
An estimated $4 million of the capital budget will be paid for through a combination of federal gas tax and various town reserve funds.
Another $2.1 million will be funded by water and sewer rates while $6.1 million will be funded via federal and provincial grants, as well as contributions from other sources.
The water and sewer balanced budgets are incorporated in the preliminary budgets, but do not have a direct impact on the general operating budget.
However, water and sewer rate decisions made by council in the next couple of months could affect changes to the operations and capital budgets.
These are stand-alone utilities supported by respective rates, and do not directly affect taxation.
