Turner Valley Town council has administration going back to the drawing board to balance next year’s budget. During its fifth engagement session with council since mid-November, administration presented a budget of $5.78 million in revenue and $5.98 million in expenses at a special meeting of council Dec. 12. Administration suggested the $199,815 difference be taken out of the Town’s tax stabilization reserve fund, funded from the annual transfer of operating surpluses and other sources approved by council, but the idea was met with disapproval by most councillors. Coun. Barry Crane made a motion that administration find a way to eliminate the difference without using reserve funds. Council voted 5-1 to the motion. Coun. Jonathan Gordon was not in attendance. “I think $200,000 out of reserves is just money that doesn’t need to move,” Crane said. “We need to build up those reserves.” Crane told councillors it’s their job to ask hard questions of administration. “I think this is a very hard question and very hard motion to put forward to ask administration to go back and try to find another $200,000,” he said. “There’s a lot of implications, as pointed out, and it’s not an easy thing to do. We totally want to say we drew a line in the sand and we tried and it’s the best we can do.” Corinne Middleton, manager of finance and corporate services, said administration has already cut costs through such initiatives like lowering salaries and wages at the outdoor pool through scheduling pool swim times without impacting services levels, and establishing a savings of $60,000 in contract services. “We have been able to go back and find areas where we’ve made some adjustments that have brought the deficit down from the original numbers that have been submitted since the end of November,” she told council. At its Dec. 17 meeting, council transferred a $232,617 surplus from 2017 into reserves. Middleton said the surplus is the result of several factors, including Town initiatives not completed prior to the end of the year due to competing priorities. “We’re expecting, when we did our quarterly update the end of September, $165,000 will be our operating surplus (in 2018) and that does not include the $100,000 we’re also putting in the capital side as well,” she said. “Around $265,000 will go into reserves.” Chief administrative officer Todd Sharpe said taking almost $200,000 from reserves would mean no tax increase for 2019, pending spring assessment values. “The transfer would balance the budget and hold the tax rates at the same level and give administration time in 2019 to take a deeper dive into where further cost savings could take place,” he said. He said council’s request for administration to eliminate the $199,815 difference will take time, and require public consultation. He told council on Monday that he anticipates bringing a final report to council at its April 1 council meeting. “There would be some real work that needs to be done and discussions around service levels until we can find that money,” he said. “There’s implications to the organization and there’s implications to service levels.” Council approved an interim operating budget for the Town at its Monday council meeting to continue operations into 2019 until the budget is finalized. Coun. Lana Hamilton said she would prefer administration find a solution to the $199,815 difference other than using reserved money. “I worry about using stabilization funds and reserves because I do feel we are not adequately saving for reserves as well,” she said. “ Are we okay with taking $200,000 from a tax stability fund to support this budget? I’m leary to do so.” Coun. Cindy Holladay agreed, saying the Town is nowhere near putting enough money away for the future. “We have a bunch of projects we need reserves for,” she said. “If we continue on the pattern we have been all of our reserves will be decimated. I think we need to find efficiencies. If that means delaying the budget another month to find them I’m okay with that.” Deputy Mayor John Waring told council the reason behind the increase is Turner Valley’s $217,906 commitment to Westend for 2019. The money will be used for both operational costs, such as bioxide costs to treat over strength sewage, and to fund future capital initiatives necessary to maintain the infrastructure. Holladay said if the Town doesn’t find a way to cover the $199,815 difference without going into its reserves, despite the Westend commitment, it could be in trouble. “I understand the Westend issue and it’s only going to get bigger by the sound of it,” she said. “When do we start planning for that?”
