The deliberations are over: now, the 2018 budget for North Battleford goes to council for a decision.
Budget deliberations wrapped up Wednesday night in North Battleford as council covered the final areas in the 2018 document. Now, it goes to the full council on Dec. 11 for further discussion and most likely a vote on adoption.
The budget had called for a three per cent property tax increase and a 4.5 per cent increase in base water and sewer rates as well as consumption rates; administration had proposed the increases in order to make headway on their debt borrowing repayments. But there is still some uncertainty about whether council will stick with the 4.5 increase or go with a slightly lower rate.
While council did not indicate a final decision Wednesday on the budget, the general sense of council was one of relief that the increases weren't higher, after the massive cut to payments in lieu in the spring provincial budget earlier this year.
At the end of Wednesday’s deliberations Mayor Ryan Bater thanked administration for their work to reduce the tax burden on city residents. Bater also noted that compared to other cities in the province North Battleford is among the lowest for tax increases.
"I have yet to see another city with a property tax as low as three per cent."
It should be noted that the three percent “provincial downloading levy” that was included in spring budget revisions is also returning again. Taxpayers will be on the hook for that same amount, there is no increase coming to that particular levy.
One reason why the taxes aren’t going to be any worse is due to the cuts made during the spring budget revisions as well as some further savings found during the process for the 2018 budget.
That seemed most evident from the presentation Wednesday from Leisure Services, presented by by their director Bill Samborski.
Meeting the budget meant some tough decisions for Leisure Services. The main news is a host of service reductions coming in 2018 to save on costs.
The Field House is looking at reducing summer hours of operation from June through September, closing at 8:30 pm instead of 9pm. They are looking at closing on non-stat holidays such as Thanksgiving Sunday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday at the field house and the pool; the pool is also looking to close for the remaining three stat holiday days, and the “Surf’s UP” feature at the aquatic centre is to remain closed in the summer until 1 pm, instead of opening the entire pool at 9 am.
They are also going ahead with a full three-week shutdown at the Field House and at the pool for cleaning and maintenance.
Some of the programming at the Field House, including Coffee Walk & Talk, Drop-in Fitness, and Tots & Track classes, will be reduced to Winter-Spring-Fall only. Drop-in Fitness classes will be reduced in number at the Aquatic Centre as well. There are other reductions as well.
Samborski said these overall service reductions amount to $153,000 in wages.
“These are difficult times,” Samborski said, but he said they had responsible strategies.
“I’m not happy about what we’re forwarding, but I think it’s fair,” said Samborski.
He noted a number of other options were on the table for consideration such as reducing pool hours, getting rid of Toonie Tuesdays and even closing the Chapel Gallery for the summer. But ultimately, administration decided against those cuts.
Despite the challenges, Samborski emphasized it was “not a doom and gloom budget” and was excited about the upcoming year in Leisure Services.
There are not a lot of massive capital expenses ahead in Leisure Services. The big-ticket item for 2018 is $75,000 towards a study for Library lighting and ceiling remediation, with some of that money going to address pipes and to also to add a sump pump. This would go towards addressing the issues suffered this summer from the storm-flooding situation impacting the NB Sports Museum and Hall of Fame in the basement.
Another of the capital items is bleacher replacement in the Don Ross for $60,000.
Planning and development was the second area covered at length Wednesday with director Jennifer Niesink leading that discussion. The bulk of their presentation focused on capital items.
That includes the $2 million downtown redevelopment phase 2, proposing roadway reconstruction, sidewalk and streetscape amenities work from 12th Ave. up to the library on 101st Street. "It's an area that does need the attention," said Niesink.
The next phase of the Airport CAP project is estimated at $550,000, with the city seeking provincial funding for half of that total. This would cover work on the sides of the runway but it is dependent on provincial funding coming through.
Also coming is year three of the Civic Centre parking lot project for $145,000, as well as development of a downtown parking lot at King Street Station at the corner of 11th and Railway. This would be a pay parking lot during the day. The lot is to be located next to where the new cinema is to be constructed on 11th Ave. and 101st Street; it is likely to be done before that project.
Another feature is roped lighting on the trees in Central Park, which would provide visibility in the park and enhance public safety efforts there. The cost is $35,000.
Niesink also noted another downtown demolition is likely in the coming year: the building that housed the old Longhorn Steakhouse will come down in 2018. The building is currently owned by the city through tax enforcement, but Niesink said no one with both the desire or means to save that building has been found. There is also an engineering report as well that says the building isn't salvageable.
"It's becoming an increasing liability and it is crumbling before our eyes," said Niesink. "We can't expect other people to be responsible if we're not going to deal with our buildings."
It also shares a common wall with another building; likely, that other building will have to go as well. Discussions will happen with the owner of that property.
The night saw one last-minute additional item added to the budget. According to a memo from director of utilities Stewart Schafer it turned out that the wastewater grit separator in the headworks of the wastewater plant began leaking. After further investigation it was noted the separator was worn out due to the flow of wastewater and grit against the separator bowl.
Administration will be ordering a replacement at approximately $35,000 plus taxes. The cost is being added to the utility budget.
Wednesday night's meeting wrapped up three nights of budget deliberations; the next discussion of the budget will be during the Dec. 11 meeting which is the last scheduled council meeting of the year.
