(file photo)

By Cam Lee

Mayor discusses budget

Mayor of Nipawin discusses municipal budget

Mar 27, 2024 | 5:00 PM

Marlon Zacharias’ first budget as mayor was an “eye-opening experience”.

Nipawin Council passed their 2024 municipal budget on Monday, approving a five per cent tax increase.

Zacharias told northeastNOW that administration did a good job of deciding what their necessities looked like for the year ahead.

“We were able to take that information and put together a pretty good plan for the community. It’s going to be very ambitious, but I like the goals that we’ve got in place and where we’re looking at going with the budget,” Zacharias explained.

He noted that everything is getting more expensive, and municipalities are also affected by higher costs.

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“Everything from the diesel in our equipment to infrastructure costs…basically everything we need to operate has gone up substantially over the last couple of years and continues to go up this year as well.”

One major cost to the Town of Nipawin is the decommissioning of a portion of their landfill. Municipalities across the province are facing the same necessity as part of Ministry of Environment regulations. Zacharias said about $3.5 million is going into the decommissioning project, with $2.6 million covered thanks to grant money.

“We’re only going to come up with just under a million dollars…to finish that project off, and it’ll all be done, completed, for the end of the year,” Zacharias said. Some of that money will come from their reserves.

Nipawin is also making a $1.3 million investment for a service loop near the Evergreen Centre. Zacharias said that will provide some commercial development opportunities and bring in some extra development for the tax base.

A sewer trunk line and lift station along 12^th Avenue, on the highway south of Nipawin, will cost $1.6 million. Zacharias said that should allow for more commercial and industrial development in the area.

While a new sewer trunk line and lift station may not be the most appealing option in which to spend money, Zacharias said it’s all with growth in mind.

“Nipawin needs to grow, we talked about it in Council at length, I talked about it when I was campaigning to take this position in the fall of last year, I talked about growth for our community. This is an integral first step we need to take.”

Funding for this project will be secured through a long-term loan, according to Zacharias. He said they hope to see added interest in the area as they look for investment through their economic development strategies.

The Town will also be investing in some upgrades and infrastructure at the Evergreen Centre. Zacharias said those changes will happen over the next few years, but they will begin this year.

A multi-sport court is also being constructed at Central Park, an item that has been pushed back in the past few budgets, with the goal of the court and lighting being completed in the fall.

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Cam.lee@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @northeastNOW_SK