After getting a first look in November, and apparently not liking what they saw, the members of Estevan city council are getting ready to take another look at the 2013 budget.
Mayor Roy Ludwig said he expected council would do some preliminary work on the budget Monday during a closed planning meeting and will also work on the budget during the next regular meeting this coming Monday.
When council first began deliberating in late 2012, the theme of the budget was to complete whatever work had been delayed over the past couple of years and allow themselves to catch up. As well, with the City's overall debt up to $37 million, they were not eager to take on large, costly projects in 2013.
However, it would appear the results of a harsh winter on local streets may have changed that plan. Ludwig said the shape of Highway 47 through Estevan as well as sections of King Street are in such poor shape that the City has no choice but to work on them this year.
The City and provincial government have a deal in place to rehabilitate Highway 47 through Estevan with work expected to start in 2014. As part of the deal, the City was not allowed to begin the work until receiving approval from the province or would have to pay the whole cost themselves.
But with much of Highway 47 and areas of King crumbling to the point where they have become an embarrassment to the City and a safety hazard for drivers, Ludwig said they have to do something this year.
"It's in such rough shape, we are looking at a shave and pave probably and we are in discussions with the province to see if we can't get some kind of partnership on the shave and pave because we can't wait until next year anymore," Ludwig said. "It's very rough and we can't wait. That is one of our key areas we have to get at (once asphalt is available) because it is getting impassable.
"This was a particularly tough winter and we really appreciate the patience of the taxpayers and we all understand that their patience is running thin and understandably so."
Ludwig said the City is in initial discussions about the shave and pave idea and it is premature to say where those talks might lead.
If they move ahead with resurfacing the areas in question, Ludwig said it might require the City to put off other purchases and projects that were in the budget as they are very cognizant of adding more debt.
"It is a tightrope that we are walking. We are running around $37 million and our ceiling is $45 million, but we will have a better feel for that after our budget," he said.
"There are no alarm bells ringing or nothing like that. The last council and even the one before that made a conscious decision - do we grow or do we not and we made the decision to grow knowing that we would have to take on extra debt.
"Some debt like Shirley Creek, that will soon be coming to an end. We do see breathing room ahead. Once we start turning the corner, we can see light at the end of the tunnel. We've got some very keen people on council that are absolutely dedicated to paying the debt down and at the same time taking care of the infrastructure."
Ludwig said after the first round of deliberations in 2012, they sent the city manager and department managers back to winnow their list and any areas that were more of a wish than a need were to be removed.
The mayor added that city treasurer Tim Leson has announced that he plans to retire effective Sept. 1. With the retirement, Ludwig said the City will be conducting an audit of its finances, which they do whenever there is a treasurer change. Ludwig said he would like to see the City also conduct an audit whenever there is a council change so the new group is up to date on all financial information.
On the topic of budgets and finances, the provincial government will be releasing its 2013 budget today in Regina.
Ludwig said that cities have not been told what to expect from the budget, but that Estevan and other communities from throughout the province are hoping for a long-term infrastructure program that would also involve the federal government.
"The federal budget is coming out soon and it will have some money for infrastructure. Through SUMA, one of the areas that we were approaching the province on was perhaps a partnership with the feds to get a long term, transparent, dependable infrastructure plan in place where we can project 10 to 15 years down the road that this funding will be there."
Ludwig added the province is also expecting to hear from Health Minister Dustin Duncan regarding a CT Scan for Estevan.
A group from the area met with Duncan earlier this year and pitched a plan where the funds to purchase the machine would come from the community. The same plan would have the group pay for the first two years of operation.
At that meeting, Duncan told the group, which included Ludwig, they should have a decision towards the end of March.
"That is something we are patiently, optimistically waiting on," Ludwig said. "We have been working on this for years."
