By Clark Stork

Melfort council accepts capital budget; operation spending still on the table

Dec 23, 2017 | 11:00 AM

Melfort city council is investing a monumental amount of money into sidewalks in 2018.

During a special budget meeting over the lunch hour Wednesday, council passed the five-year capital budget plan unanimously. 

The document was originally tabled at the Dec. 11 meeting. The largest expenditure, $650,000, will relate to sidewalk construction. Mayor Rick Lang said recently council only earmarked $50,000 for sidewalk upgrades.

“We’re going to get substantially more new sidewalks built with this approved capital budget and that’s the major change,” Lang said.

The city expects to spend just over $3 million in capital expenditures in 2018.

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Several projects depend on funding from other sources, such as the  Highway 6 service road work. The city earmarked over $1.4 million for the work, but if approved by the provincial government, three-quarters of the cost would be covered. 

The service roads fall under the Urban Highway Connector Program (UHCP). 

Lang said administration has been turned down for three years in a row for help with Saskatchewan Ave., which also falls under the UHCP. No work will be conducted without provincial funding. Another $1.5 million is planned to be spent on the construction of the Wellness Centre attached to the hospital.

Municipal partners will cover $600,000 of the tab over a 20-year payback period.

Council also discussed the 2018 operating budget during the special meeting. On the table is a 4.6 per cent tax hike for residents. 

Lang said council wants to see the increase not outweigh inflation.

“There’s an expectation the city should be able to operate within the confines of what’s presented with respect to inflation,” Lang said.

According to Statistics Canada, the inflation rate rose two per cent this year as of the end of October.

Ahead of last year’s budget, urban centres were hit hard by government cuts. The axe to grants-in-lieu payments shorted municipal coffers nearly $256,000. Combine that with revenue sharing cuts, the city will be short $160,000 in funding for its 2018 books. Lang said council and administration will take more time to ease the strain on the taxpayers.

“We’re still addressing further cuts this year and still trying to provide services and find efficiencies in the operating budget,” Lang said.

During the meeting, Coun. Trent Mitchell said he would like the hike to be no higher than 3.5 per cent. Lang said that number may be hard to reach without provincial help.

“We’re hoping that we won’t see any more provincial cuts,” Lang added.

The city will not finalize its operating budget until the provincial government tables their spending report, which is expected to come forward in March.

Clark.stork@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @ClarkStork