Courtesy of the City of Williams Lake:
Williams Lake City Council gave the first three readings to the 2012 budget and 2013-2016 Financial Plan at its regular meeting April 3. The current plan calls for tax revenue increases of 3% in each of its five years. This is a reduction from the 5% increases projected in the 2010-2014 financial plan and 4% in the 2011-2015 plan.
The 2012 budget maintains current levels of service and any increased costs in 2012 operating budget, including $303,000 for the RCMP contract, were more than off-set by a number of cost cutting measures. After accounting for fixed increases in 2012, the general fund operating budget was reduced by $213, 680 or 1.2%.
The 2012 capital budget was also reduced by a total of $1.76 million with a portion of these reductions being transferred to reserves to help fund the $2.1-million South Lakeside Drive widening and repaving project in 2013. These measures in 2012 will allow the South Lakeside project to be completed with no long-term borrowing.
Other highlights of the 2012 budget and Five Year Financial Plan include:
• No increases to water or sewer rates in 2012
• Minimum of $400,000 maintained in the General Surplus Reserve
• Continued contributions to a Pavement Management Plan
• $15,000 allocated for a new dog park in Boitanio Park
• $122,000 allocated to implement the Business Attraction and Expansion Strategy
• An increase of 12 hours per week to the HandyDART service
• $50,000 for an irrigation upgrade along Highway 97 North and $6,000 for decorative wraps for City utility boxes
“Staff and Council have worked hard over the last few months to significantly reduce the budget, even before we were informed of some of the increased costs we face this year, including a $145,000 increase for the lease of the RCMP detachment as a result of the new Provincial/Federal RCMP contract,” says Mayor Kerry Cook. “Spending reductions in the 2012 budget are significant, and they position the City to not only keep tax increases down despite rising costs, but they put us in a strong position in the coming years to finance large projects such as South Lakeside Drive, without borrowing.”
For the first time, Council debated the budget in publicly advertised meetings, and accepted public input throughout the budget process. Council has taken steps to further improve the process, requiring staff to have a provisional budget prepared by December 1 of each year, starting in December 2012.
Council will now deliberate over tax rate distribution. The financial plan will be adopted April 17, and a tax rate bylaw will be adopted before May 15.
1 comment:
I find it funny how mayor and some other councillors try to justify the tax hike by saying we are doing good! We were going to raise taxes 5% now its only 3%. You should be happy. But no sense complaining, we are the idiots that voted them in when we all knew a 3% hike was their intention
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