Budget about balancing growth and keeping expenses down
By Mayor Annette Clews for the Round Up
Budget 2012 has proven to be a challenge for Council; balancing the growth of our community while keeping expenses down. Council does so with the help of our Strategic Plan, which envelops the new mission ìServing our community with innovationî and vision ìA vibrant, healthy communityî.
From this plan are four key Strategic Actions, which of course will have an impact on the taxation rate for our residents. First, Community Synergy ensures the core values of the Town are communicated and promoted to the organization and the community.
Second, as Council we are committed to our community's vitality, we will strive to develop economic diversity, expand our housing options, develop culture, recreation and social infrastructure, engage our community and encourage staff training.
The third strategy being Financial Stewardship, will include an organizational review that analyzes services in relation to taxes, seeks innovative ways to stabilize and reduce taxes where possible, reflects fair and reasonable tax rates and fee structures, encourages development, and develops partnerships to deliver services.
With the last strategic action, Infrastructure Management (water, sewer, buildings), we will ensure essential infrastructure is available, seek solutions that allow expansion in relation to growth, create plans that will direct future development, perform in-depth Capital planning, growth studies and manage growth.
How does this strategic plan relate to budget 2012? Well, we have placed an emphasis on mapping existing infrastructure and planning future infrastructure with studies to be done on wastewater treatment as our licence for the existing lagoon expires in 2014; a master infrastructure plan for roads, water and wastewater distribution that includes the Geographic Information System (GIS); the continuation on the Electronic Radio Transmitter (ERT) for the Automated Meter Readers in our gas and water/wastewater departments; and an increase to our emergency and protective services, recreational facilities, and social services to better aid in delivery of these services to our residents.
We have received the message from you, our citizens, that taking care of what we already have is important and to plan and save for future replacement. The strategic plan guides us in a planned and orderly direction to save for the future.
