Drumheller's Town Council has started budget talks for 2015. (l-r)Councillor Tom Zariski, Mayor Terry Yemen, Chief Administrative Officer Ray Romanetz in Council chambers.
Drumheller Town Council kicked off official budget deliberations December 1 on what the Mayor describes as a “stay the course” operational budget.
The Mayor said Town administration is recommending a two per cent increase needed for 2015, which is the same increase taxpayers saw in the 2014 budget.
“It seems kind of a status quo. There’s no big projects that are going to need funding. The one thing - but it won’t be part of this discussion- is still the flood mitigation. That’s in the hands of the provincial government, but there may be some very real dollars the Town’s going to have to spend, but we don’t know yet.”
One of the projects the Town plans is enhancements to the pool, said the Mayor, but they want to get the waterslide installed first.
The work for the Aquaplex that will be a part of the 2015 budget discussions is a gradual or sloped entry for the indoor pool, as an alternative to users just having ladder entry.
One of the challenges the Town will face this year is the elimination of some provincial monies. In previous years, the Town received funding from both Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) grants and the gas tax.
Yemen explained the province has rolled MSI and other grants now into one source of funding through the gas tax, at the same rate as last year.
The Mayor said the Town will ask the province if they can provide more funding for much needed local seniors’ housing. Currently the municipal and provincial cost share is half and half.
“In the past they’ve provided it at 90-10, 70-30, but not 50-50, so we are looking at more from them. But they are looking at other alternatives where they may have some room in Hillsview and they may be able to facilitate some extra beds in there.”
The Mayor said he’s hoping the Town can keep the tax increase at two per cent, which would still bring it in under the cost of inflation.
