Capital projects protected as Berwick passes early three-year budget

BY SARA KEDDY

Kings County Register

Berwick councillors have painted themselves into a corner with the early approval of the town’s three-year capital budget.

It’s good news for town departments, who can get a jump on the season of planned paving, sidewalk and storm water system work.

It’s bad news for councillors, who have yet to approve the town’s 2008/ 2009 operating budget and tax rate - in the past done at the same time as the capital budget, and also at it’s expense as councillors look to hold a tax rate or lessen a hike with cuts.

“We’re committed to the capital budget, and this keeps us from balancing the operating budget on the capital budget,” chief administrative officer Bob Ashley told councillors as he explained the separate consideration process, which started with a first look at the capital plan in March, a review in April and its presentation for a vote May 13.

Accountant Mike MacLean said there are struggles in the plan placing safety issues - sidewalks - before work that could save the town money.

“The greening of the town hall is stuck out in year four, but we’d like to move it as early as year one. If we move a $40,000 project in, we do have to move something out.”

He suggested recent recommendations in an energy audit of the town hall be tackled by town staff where there is little expense, and as opportunities arise for more work earlier, council could approve them.

“Right now, it would be hard to go there.”

Deputy Mayor Don Clarke and Councillor Richard Horsburgh both expressed disappointment with money allocated for beautification around the town, particularly at the “northern gateway” off Highway 101.

“The completion of the fire hall there is going to require a sidewalk, signage, maybe moving the apple from the town hall - it almost needs a committee to decide what really needs to go down there, and make that area more presentable,” Clarke said.

Horsburgh pointed at $7,000 in each of the next three years for this kind of work - but good justifications for all the other projects funded - and said he was “disappointed.

“I see all the dead trees, and we’re not ranking very high when you look at other towns.”

Councillor Beth Easson, though, warned councillors to “beware the things you can’t see.

“As projects come up, we have to make decisions on what to do. The ones we don’t do, can’t see and put off come back to bite us as a bigger problem,” she said.

Ashley agreed, saying there is $1 million worth of storm water and sewer system work in the capital budget over the next 10 years, much of which has been pushed from year-to-year already, several times.

MacLean said staff will work with the three-year capital plan, but also “pull some of those projects back in” as funding options come up before the 10-year period passes.

“The numbers are there and the plan is in line - it won’t be easy or quick, but we will have better information in the next months to plan with.”

Councillor Gary Whittier moved adoption of the three-year capital budget and Easson seconded it. It passed unanimously.

The 2008/ 2009 operating budget will come back to council for another review at the May 27 committee-of-the-whole session, with an aim to passing it at the June 9 council.

The capital plan

Berwick’s three-year capital budget calls for $4,540,000 in spending. Only $1,900,783 (42 per cent) comes from town money. The rest comes from a 50/ 50 share with the Berwick Fire Commission on the $2.6 million fire hall project to be finished this fall, and other government funding and grant programs.

• Year 1 (2008/ 2009) - $2.98 million total: information technology ($31,000), municipal building work ($12,300), fire service ($2.4 million), public works equipment ($96,000), sidewalks ($25,000), storm water systems ($285,000), parks and trails ($64,000)

• Year 2 (2009/ 2010) - $1.2 million total: information technology ($6,000), municipal building work ($77,100), fire service ($180,000), public works equipment ($37,100), storm water systems ($250,000), parks and trails ($58,000), RCMP detachment ($600,000)

• Year 3 (2010/ 2011) - $333,000 total: information technology ($18,500), fire service ($40,000), sidewalks ($100,000), parks and trails ($35,000), paving ($100,000), sewer collection ($100,000)

• To Year 10 (2017/ 2018), the town’s proposed capital budget totals $9.8 million