Mountain View County councillors have had a first look at the proposed 2013 overall operational services budget and capital infrastructure projects.If all the operating programs went ahead as contained in the budget, the operational services department would need just under $300,000 in additional tax revenue to support the programs in 2013, council heard.“I think it is going pretty well,” said Reeve Bruce Beattie. “I think it is sometimes a struggle for all of us to get through the budget process, but both council and staff want to be on the same page when we get done, and so far we have been.“I think there is general agreement on most of the budget and it is just a matter of fine- tuning that side (capital budget). The operational side will come once we get to the spring. It's not a question of whether we want to spend resources on the infrastructure; it's just a matter of where our priorities are.”Asked if he believes taxes will be going up as a result of the 2013 budget, Beattie said: “I think there is potential for a small increase if there is an increase. We always try to aim for zero, but to be realistic, I think we've held it at zero for the last couple years and I'm not surprised if it would be a small, one or two per cent (increase) perhaps.“Another part of this is we won't really know until we get the school requisition from the province, and we usually get that in February.”The 2013 infrastructure maintenance service budget calls for net recurring operating expenses of $17,350,000 an increase of $474,000 over the 2012 total of $16,875,900.Those expenses include the following: $780,000 on administration, up from $765,000; $1,615,000 for gravelling roads, up from $1,610,00; $2,140,000 for snow operations, up 5.4 per cent from 2012; $400,000 for drainage management, up from $335,000 last year; $395,000 for traffic control, up from $385,000 in 2012; $250,000 for vegetation control, down from $296,000; and $300,000 on gravel pits, up from $100,000 in 2012.There is also a call to spend $25,000 on the Sundre shop, $25,000 on the Didsbury shop, and $15,000 on a mock disaster exercise.The overall net funding requirement for infrastructure maintenance services would be $16,846,800, up 1.7 per cent from the 2012 total of $16,572,900.The capital expenditures for roads would be $17,427,700, up from $14,595,000 in 2012.The infrastructure budget calls for $2,380,000 to be spent on the road re-chipping program, $300,000 on asphalt patching, $600,000 on base stabilization, and $1,795,000 on the re-gravelling program.As well, the infrastructure budget calls for $2,500,000 to be spent on the non-collector road network, including $200,000 on Olds-Didsbury Airport lot access, and $1,536,100 on bridge maintenance.The 2013 collector road program includes $2.1 million for earthwork and $4 million for paving on the 4.8-kilometre Acme Road, and $1.2 million on paving of Rge. Rd 42.Proposed local road construction projects include $1 million for road reconstruction on Rge. Rd. 65 between Highway 584 and Twp. Rd. 332.The bridge maintenance program calls for total spending of $93,400.The multi-year plan for building upgrades calls for total spending of $71,800 in 2013, including $34,000 on the county's Olds Quonset, and $10,000 on the county's Eagle Hill shop.The budget calls for $80,000 to be spent for a review of the MVC road network construction report for planning, prioritizing, and future funding of major and minor collector road reconstruction, paving, repaving, re-chipping, etc. It was last updated in 2007.“The object of the roadway maintenance system is to ensure all roads within the county are identified and maintained over the next 20 - 25 years for roadways' intended use, both presently as well as in the future,” operations director Michael MacLean said in a note to council.The report should be updated to “ensure the prioritization is correct and aligned with the assumption made within the report as well as demographical changes within MVC that may have occurred,” he said.The department is also recommending that a new position be created to oversee the management and inspection of all road haul movements within the county.“The recommendation is to have one employee that is trained to function as both a primary contact for all aspects of managing and protecting roadway infrastructure as it relates to road use agreements and haul routes with MVC,” he said, noting the position will not require the hiring of a new staff member as “staffing will be managed from within existing full-time staff.”The operational services budget will be back before council this week for further consideration.The overall MVC budget is not expected to be passed until next spring, said Reeve Beattie.“We'd like to have it done by the end of March,” said Beattie.Council has already reviewed the first draft of the 2013 legislative services, agriculture and land management budgets. Further reviews of that budget are also planned.The 2013 legislative services budget calls for spending of $819,300, down slightly from the 2012 total for $826,615.The community services budget calls for spending of $352,100, down from $365,630 in 2012. The grants program calls for spending of $238,555, up 3.2 per cent from 2012's total of $231,055.The community services fire budget calls for spending of $984,450, up from $904,100 in 2012, while the agriculture budget calls for spending of $919,235, up from $749,610 last year.Projects proposed for 2013 include the following:• The implementation of an updated records management program for the county, at a total cost of $175,000.• The hiring of a second permanent full-time position for administrative support and records management assistance, at a cost of $63,000.• The purchase of wildland gear coveralls for area fire departments, at a cost of $33,000. The proposal is to purchase 165 of the coveralls.• The creation of a MVC energy business licence, at a proposed cost of $16,500.•The $16,500 proposed cost includes $10,000 for research and $3,000 for legal fees pertaining to the accompanying draft bylaw, council heard.• A radio communications system review, at a cost of $10,000.• Making preparations, at a cost of $10,000, for the possible sale of the Westward Ho campground.
