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Town of Okotoks releases 2019 financials

The 2019 annual report includes financials and explanation of how taxpayer dollars were spent.
Okotoks municipal centre
The Town of Okotoks has released its 2019 annual report including financials and explanation of how taxpayer dollars were spent. (Brent Calver/Western Wheel)

After a delay due to COVID, the Town of Okotoks has released its annual report from 2019 to the public.

The Town’s financials are the main focus of the report, revealing operating actuals of about $62.8 million in revenue and $64.6 million in expenditures last year, with an additional $6.2 million in contributed assets, capital donations and government transfers, resulting in an overall surplus of about $4.4 million.

Accounting services manager Allan Felker said the positive year-end report is a result of the Town’s operating revenues being up slightly over projected levels in 2019.

“We sold a piece of land that we had not budgeted, so our revenue was a bit higher,” he said. “Our investments, we delayed some capital spending and a little bit of operating spending, which meant we could invest more money at the time, so our investment income was a little bit up as well.”

He said on the capital side, some repairs and maintenance were deferred in 2019, with expenses to be pushed out to subsequent years.

“We deferred some things, so even though the bottom line looks a little favourable it’s because we didn’t do some expenditures that will have to be done,” said Felker.

The report highlights areas where the Town’s dollars were spent, which projects were started or completed, services provided by the municipality and amenities paid for with tax dollars for residents to have a broad picture of how taxes are used, he said.

Rather than just a copy of the Town’s financial statements and auditor’s declaration, the report highlights different service areas of the municipality as well, he said.

“We have tried to be a little bit more transparent on where some of the money went and the things we’ve done within the Town itself in 2019, for the year,” said Felker. “We’re trying to give as much feedback to our citizens as possible for transparency on how the municipality is spending their money and what we’re doing.”

It goes hand-in-hand with involving more public input into the budgeting process, he said. Currently the Town has a 2021 budget survey on its website to learn residents’ priorities and how they have been affected by COVID-19.

Despite dealing with a pandemic, he said the 2020 budget will come in close to balanced by year-end. The Town had developed different scenarios to handle the crisis and how revenues would be impacted based on how long facilities were shut down, he said.

Council voted in April to hold its 2020 taxes to a zero per cent increase after previously approving a two per cent increase for the year in December, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

To remain balanced in 2020, Felker said those revenues, and the loss of income from closed-down recreation facilities, were made up for in other areas by decreasing expenditures and delaying more repairs and maintenance projects.

“We did not hire our temporary staff for the summer, we laid off some temporary staff through the year and we deferred some repairs and maintenance,” said Felker. “Sooner or later we’ll have to do those things, but right now we should be coming in fairly flat revenue versus expenses.”

He said COVID-19 is still a major consideration in developing the 2021 budget, and it has been a challenge for the senior leadership and management teams to consider how the year may begin with the country still in the midst of the pandemic.

“How is it going to affect us again and where do we see expenses, and what can we defer versus what do we have to do?” said Felker. “We’re still working on those answers and there are no decisions yet.”

To view the report visit www.okotoks.ca

Krista Conrad, OkotoksToday.ca

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