OLDS — The Town of Olds' utility costs were projected to be $237,000 over budget as of Dec. 31, according to corporate services director Sheena Linderman.
Linderman delivered that news during a Jan. 27 presentation to council on the corporate services department’s fourth quarter. Utilities are one of the responsibilities of the corporate services department.
Coun. Darren Wilson asked why utilities appeared to be so far over budget.
“The biggest contributor to that was our streetlights, electricity,” Linderman said, pegging that cost at $127,000 more than budgeted.
She said other factors were basically electricity and natural gas costs at the Aquatic Centre and Sportsplex.
Linderman said as of Dec. 31, utilities had obtained $8.1 million in revenue, 88 per cent of the amount budgeted, but $419,000 less than projected.
She said consumption has been less than anticipated.
On the expenses side of the equation, as of Dec. 31, $8.3 million had been spent, 90 per cent of the amount budgeted and about $295,000 less than expected.
Linderman said that’s because the town has been buying less from the water and wastewater commissions.
The town is continuing an ongoing effort to encourage utility customers to go with e-billing rather than paper bills.
As part of that effort, a promotion was undertaken whereby the names of customers who went that route could be entered into a draw for a month of free utilities, worth up to $150.
Linderman said the e-billing rate has now risen to 58 per cent from 49 per cent in 2023.
“It’s hard to say how much of this was the incentive, as we also experienced the postal strike during this time period, which was unfortunate, but we may run those incentives this year, just to see if that ups it again,” she said.
