OLDS — Town council has approved an interim budget to carry the municipality over until a full 2022 budget is hammered out in April.
Council made that decision during its Dec. 13 meeting.
This balanced interim budget is pegged at $30,955,533 in 2022, down from $31,141,471 last year.
No tax rate increase is proposed in this budget, finance director Sheena Linderman noted in a report to council.
She recommended that council wait until assessment numbers and school requisition are finalized next April before consider whether to increase – or even decrease or rebate taxes.
Linderman said the interim budget anticipates tax revenue totalling $9,723,381, an increase of $64,142 over the 2021 figure of $9,659,239.
The total taxable assessment is currently estimated to be $1,492,038,510, an increase of 0.7 per cent over $1,482,132,940 in 2021.
Council scrutinized the proposed interim budget during its policies and priorities meeting on Dec. 6. At that time, Linderman noted, it had a deficit of $363,682.
After lengthy debate, council directed administrative staff to make the following cuts in order to balance the budget:
• Remove a proposed new deputy fire chief position, saving $95,380. (Linderman noted Mountain View County had been slated to pay $12,296 toward that position, so that revenue is now foregone);
• Remove the manager of community relations position, saving $33,310,
• Drop a proposal to create a full-time Aquatic Centre receptionist, position instead of relying on casual help ($26,225),
• Cover the cost of a half-ton pickup truck ($41,000) from the municipality's capital reserve rather than operating coffers,
• Remove four proposed improvements to the Sportsplex totalling about $112,000, including $10,000 to upgrade sound in the main area, $55,000 to paint the main floor, $12,000 for a play centre and $35,000 for a score clock.
Linderman said once all those changes were made, the municipality was left with a deficit of $180,063. The solution was to transfer that money from the tax stabilization reserve.
