Councillor Mike Trinacty: “If they do show up for a meeting without the background knowledge and give their input for half-an-hour - sometimes you feel forced to respond to that.”
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Building a Berwick budget
Berwick looks for public input, but starts spending process on its own
BY SARA KEDDY
Kings County Register
A few around Berwick’s council table and offices are disappointed no one took up the invitation to “be informed” at March 25’s look at capital spending.
An ad the week before indicated committee-of-the-whole would be considering “in what long term upgrades might your tax dollars be invested?”
“I’m a little disappointed people whose money we are spending are not here,” chief administrative officer Bob Ashley said. “We are spending a lot of money - it’s millions and millions.”
There were a handful of people out for the 6:30 p.m. public hearing on zoning issues and the start of the meeting but, by the time the capital budget’s first draft came up, it was 9:20 p.m. and everyone had left. The discussion lasted until just after 10 p.m.
“We have participatory budgeting,” Councillor Mike Trinacty said in response to Ashley’s concern. “It’s called ‘elect your councillors every four years and let them represent you.’
“Everyone’s tried that. It’d be nice to have more people here, but if they do show up for a meeting without the background knowledge and give their input for half-an-hour - sometimes you feel forced to respond to that.”
Working to a tax rate
Council hasn’t looked at its operating budget for 2008/ 2009 yet, but the first draft of the capital budget - for next year and to 2018 - has major implications on future tax rates.
There is $9.6 million in that 10-year plan - not including $600,000 and another $1 million suggested by Trinacty be “benchmarked” in the plan to “hold a spot” for any lead the town may play in a future outdoor pool and library” “and not out in year five or six,” he said.
Ashley and town accountant Mike MacLean went through the capital plan, but spent a great deal of time talking about the town’s failure to meet its own policy of capital financial management: “to strive annually to maintain a minimum level of funding for capital purposes equal to 30 per cent of the residential tax rate.”
“That’s ‘strive’,” Ashley said. “Not ‘attempt’ or ‘make a stab at.’
“We can’t dig ourselves into a capital deficit hole, and our plan is driven by policy and needs we believe are there.”
Berwick had a spread of over $100,000 in 2006/ 2007 between the target and the actual capital spending; it’s $50,000 below target now and, at the present rate of spending and taxing, will continue at that spread for the next few years forecasted.
Line by line
Trinacty questioned a $30,000 listing for new office accounting software.
“People don’t see that like they would $30,000 in paving potholes.”
MacLean said Berwick is the only municipal unit still using this software and he’s identified it as a risk, as system support is becoming harder to access and the provider could drop the program entirely at any time. A change has already been pushed back in the capital budget twice.
“But we have a new sidewalk (estimated at $25,000) for west Orchard Street in year two?” Trinacty asked.
“Unless you want to move it to year one - and maybe that would be the software,” MacLean responded.
“I bet I know what people would rather have - but they’re not here,’ Trinacty said.
Councillor Anna Ashford Morton chimed in, “I can get them.”
MacLean said staff was most optimistically hoping for approval of the capital plan at this meeting - to chuckles from councillors, but said another draft will more likely come back to the April 22 committee-of-the-whole.
“Then it will all funnel into the operating budget process,” MacLean said. “This proposal (for the capital budget) has no increase from the tax rate. The goal would be to get it in place, take the panic off when we start the operating budget and separate the two.”
How some of the dollars add up
• $2.4 million - fire hall construction (2008/ 2009)
• $60,000 - a new gym floor in the town hall (2009/ 2010)
• $250,000 - town hall energy retrofit (2011/ 2012)
• $1 million - sewer treatment plant upgrade (2012/ 2013)
• $75,000 - town hall renovation (2014/ 2015)
• $25,000 - new washrooms/ storage building at Rainforth Park (2014/ 2015)
• $686,000 - storm water system upgrades (2008/ 2009 to 2017/ 2018)
• $746,000 - public works vehicle replacements (2008/ 2009 to 2017/ 2018)
