(File Photo/northeastNOW Staff)

By Mat Barrett

Budget Deliberations

Administration looking for ‘tools’ to help fund deficit as budget talks begin in Melfort

Feb 27, 2021 | 9:08 AM

Operating Budget talks have begun in the City of Melfort.

Administration gave their preliminary budget to council at a Committee of the Whole meeting on Friday, Feb. 26. The initial budget shows a 4.12 per-cent tax increase, but it is very much so in the preliminary stages and is expected to drop a great deal, council is hoping to be around the 2 per-cent mark.

After numerous discussions regarding Friday’s budget, administration will now work through the budget again and look to bring the increase down. Treasurer Sandy Peterson said rather than looking for more efficiencies, they’ll look for tools to fund the deficit.

“What we’d be looking at is our mill rate stabilization fund- that we have a reserve for- to utilize that,” she said. “And any previous surpluses that we may have had in 2020.”

The other tool is, of course, a tax increase. Peterson said it will be a combination to fund the deficit.

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The city is expecting about a $200,000 surplus from 2020, but the current policy does state that 50 per-cent of those funds must go to the special capital reserve, and the other half must go towards the facility maintenance reserve. However, Peterson said there could be a change in the policy to allow for some, or the entire surplus to go towards the operating budget.

Administration has already found some efficiencies in the preliminary budget to try and limit the tax increase. That includes staffing, however, not in the full-time staff. The preliminary budget is proposing not hiring or waiting a few months to hire some staff, to the savings of around $200,000. The changes will be seen at the pool, where staff won’t be hired until April, when normally staff would currently be on the books, but the pool is currently closed. The other place where staff won’t be hired is public works where two seasonal staff are not expected to be hired. However, it was noted at the meeting that less staff would create a small ‘pinch’ in public works, and Council did ask Administration to look at the effect of partial hiring’s in that department.

The other portion of initial budget talks to highlight comes from the Melfort Wellness Centre. Talk of a special levy to property owners in Melfort to help fund the initial investment of the Wellness Centre came about.

“They would definitely see it as an increase in their taxation,” Peterson said. “We’re looking at about $35.”

Administration is also waiting on the 2021 assessment roll for property taxes. It is a re-assessment year, which means there could be a larger change than normal on some properties. The city is now waiting on that to come in so they can analyze the effect on property classes, and come up with a tax strategy.

Mayor Glenn George told northeastNOW that while the increase may seem high right now, talks are very preliminary and that number is expected to go down. He did not provide any other comment.

Council is set to meet again for budget talks on Thursday, March 4.

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mat.barrett@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @matbarrett6