The members of Estevan city council will have some tough decisions facing them today as they sit down for the beginning of deliberations on the 2013 budget.
It was expected the members of council would begin pouring over the capital portion of the budget today and would get to the operations portion tomorrow.
According to the summary financial plan provided by the City, the budget forecasts $28.85 million in revenue in 2013 and operating expenditures of $26.79 million for a surplus of $2.05 million. However, after the $2.86 million in capital expenditures, the city expects a deficit of $806,780 which would require a property tax increase of roughly two mills to cover the shortfall.
Mayor Roy Ludwig said council is not prepared to raise taxes by that much and he expects there will be plenty of cutting once the deliberations begin.
"We are going to have to go back and revisit that because it is just too much," said Ludwig.
Although it has been well documented that the City has a number of infrastructure needs as it continues to grow, Ludwig said council would like to use 2013 as a chance to catch up on projects that have been delayed a number of times. An example he pointed to is the parking lot at the Souris Valley Aquatic and Leisure Centre.
"We want to back off on a lot of the new capital projects that we might have been looking at," he said. "We would like to finish off what we have on our plate before we move forward."
Ludwig said another consideration was the City's current debt load, which is around $35 million mark. He noted that although the debt is a by-product of growth and will be paid down as the City recoups its money on lots, they have to be cognizant of how much debt they carry.
"A lot of that will be alleviated in a few years. It is a concern and even in this year's budget, I would like to see more done on it. I am not happy with the bottom line I am looking at and I think we would like to pare it back a bit more."
Ludwig said Estevan and a number of cities throughout the country are also slowing down a touch in 2013 as they anticipate the announcement of a new round of infrastructure funding in 2014.
"The federal government is coming out with some fairly serious money for infrastructure in 2014. So a lot of the cities will be taking care of the ongoing issues that they want to get wrapped up before that point in time so that they are ready to look forward and get lined up what they want to do from 2014 onward. That is another thing that we are going to have to get our heads around. We want to get at lot of these issues that have been on our plate for too long and then get some serious brainstorming and see what are our needs as a city moving forward and where should we be directing our money."
The desire to catch up is reflected in the capital projects listed in the budget.
The capital portion of the leisure services budget is largely comprised of equipment but does include some projects that were carried over from 2012 such as work on the drainage pond area at Kensington Park and the redevelopment of Torgeson Park. Among the new items is an upgrade to the security camera system at the Souris Valley Aquatic and Leisure Centre, which is budgeted at $120,000; new lights for the ice surface area at the Estevan Curling Club and $60,000 to pave the parking lot at the ECC.
The big project in the engineering services budget is the rehabilitation of Highway 47 through Estevan - another project that has been on the wish list for years.
The budget has $4 million earmarked for the north leg of Highway 47, but Ludwig admitted the City is continuing to wait for money from the provincial government and there is a strong chance it will be bumped to 2014.
"I would be surprised if those monies are going to be coming forward," he said. "We are already in discussions with the hope that in 2014 we can get Souris tackled."
The paving of Kensington Avenue from King Street north to the city limits is also included in the budget. The $3.8 million project, which will be financed by partnerships, has been talked about for a number of years as the road has continued to worsen due to the volume of heavy truck traffic as well as traffic to the Estevan Comprehensive School. As part of the job, 1.5 metres would be trimmed off the top of the hill next to ECS to correct the grade and sightlines.
Also of note is $250,000 for the creation of a traffic master plan. There is also $500,000 carried over from last year's budget for traffic lights at the intersection of Kensington Avenue and Devonian Street and another $450,000 carried over to complete the rehabilitation of Milne Crescent.
The land development services budget has a number of projects scheduled for 2013. Among them is the development of land known as Parcel F. The section of land near St. Joseph's Hospital was purchased by the City for the purpose of 21 single family lots. The development will cost $2.5 million which will be financed by lots sales. To facilitate the Parcel F development, and other projects in the area, the City will also need to extend Wellock Road to Sister Roddy Road at a cost of $2.5 million, also to be financed by lot sales. Also in the budget is $2.5 million for development of King Street east. As part of a land sale deal the City entered into last year, King Street must be extended to the area behind Walmart. Half of the cost will come from lot sales and the other half from partnerships.
In his submission, land development services manager Rob Denys also spoke about the pending development projects, which are expected in 2013 and once completed will place additional demands on City services.
One potential project is the Meadows of Estevan by Essex Developments of Alberta. Denys noted the project is still at the development/servicing negotiation stage but once fully built out, could include 128 single-family lots, 100 multi-family units and 100 assisted-living units.
There is also the Dominion Heights development, which will have 37 single family lots in its first phase and another project planned for the Trojan Subdivision which could have 52 lots.
It would appear from the summary plan that Estevan residents can expect to see an increase on their water bills in 2013. The overall expected surplus is $1.63 million, but there are also $2.59 million in capital projects currently on the books, leaving a deficit of just over $960,000.
