2014 Budget Information

Coming up with a budget for 2014 was a difficult. We are facing a host of challenges related to infrastructure and growth. Here are some of the infrastructure investments that need to be made over the next few years.

Infrastructure Need	Timeline	Purpose	Cost
Water Treatment Plant	3 – 5 years	Increase capacity	$17 million
Water Distribution	Present – 5 years	Ensure delivery	$2 million
Waste Water Collection	Present – 5 years	Safety	$7 million
Waste Water Treatment	Present – 5 years	New sewage treatment	$11 - $16 million
Storm Water	Present – 3 years	Safety	$365,000
General (Photos, Bylaws, etc.)	Present – 3 years	Ensure condition	$205,000
Total	Ongoing	Ensure responsible, sustainable growth	$37.5 million

 

These infrastructure investments are what we take for granted: lots of clean, healthy water through our taps, toilet water that goes where it is supposed to go, storm water that doesn’t cause back up in our basements, and responsible oversight of our infrastructure. You and I take this stuff for granted and we have to work to ensure there are no problems.

 

We also need to make infrastructure investments over the coming years so we can have opportunities to invest in our children, our parents, and ourselves. This investment is why we stay and people may come: the quality of life. This is where Phase 2, the West Central Community Centre and Town Square receive their investment.

Project	Timeline	Purpose	Funding Source	Cost
Phase 2: WCCC	3 – 8 years	Quality of life	Donations, government, private partnership	$25 million - $65 million
Town Square	3 years	Quality of life	Donations (more than $100,000 so far), Town	$950,000
Total	10 years?	Quality of Life	Everyone	Lots!

Capital investment for 2014 is more than 30% of the current budget.

 

The Town also needs to maintain its existing facilities; many of which, such as the NRC and the Pool, are very old, and the Events Centre which is entering a period when more maintenance than usual is required. Personally, I wish we could have invested in some of the items in the following table this year but these have been deferred a year.

Project	Timeline	Purpose	Cost
Street Sweeper	1 year	Clean streets	$250,000
Flusher Truck	1 year	Clean streets	$40,000
Backhoe	2 years	Maintenance	$120,000
Loader	3 years	Landfill	$120,000
Ice Deck	1 year	Indoor soccer, baseball, etc at WCEC	$200,000
Storage Unit	1 year	Store Ice Deck	$20,000
EC Dehumidifier	1 year	Health and Safety	$80,000
EC Fire Suppression	1 – 2 years	Replace overhead sprinklers	$180,000
Grandstand Repair	2 years	Update	$50,000
Total	1 – 3 years	Ongoing maintenance	$1,060,000

 

As part of the budget process we have to plan ahead for events we know are going to happen, such as water main break, but not knowing what will happen or how much it will cost. These monies go into reserves just as money set aside for infrastructure to be built in the future goes into reserve.

Project	Money Added	Total Ending 2014
Fire Truck Replacement Reserve	$150,000	$502,266
Fire Hall Reserve	$250,000	$250,000
General Development Reserve	$400,00	$1,060,851
Regional Landfill	$250,000	$250,000
Phase 2 WCCC Reserve	$112,100	$763,040
Total	$1,162,100	$2,576,407

 

The total reserves the Town has for both future investment in infrastructure and for stuff that happens is $7 million.

 

So far it looks like all we have been doing is spending your money; we haven’t. Council directed Administration to cut 3% from operations (almost $300,000). As that was done we learned that the total fixed costs for the Town are more than $1 million for payments to:

·         9*1*1

·         Airport

·         Audit

·         Council

·         Election

·         Interest

·         Landfill Development

·         Library

·         RCMP

·         SAMA

Administration was able to find about 3.1% in savings throughout the organization. Due to the EK Waterline, which pipes our water from the South Saskatchewan River 55kms away, and the new Water Tower which holds 750,000 litres, we make loan payments this year of $718,000.

If you have any questions or concerns please talk or email me.