Turner Valley is heading down the homestretch as it prepares its 2021-22 budget.
A Turner Valley Financial Committee meeting was held on Nov. 27 and Nov. 30 where further suggestions were made, which will be discussed at council’s public meeting on Dec. 7.
“The objective was to give council an entire overview of the operations, business cases and managers’ points of view of why they need the amounts they require and is there any room to trim those budgets,” Mayor Barry Crane said of the two-day meeting.
The focus on the Nov. 30 meeting was on capital projects.
Crane said, like many municipalities, Turner Valley has a massive funding gap for capital projects and infrastructure in the long run.
“You’re looking at $1.5-million per year to really top up and maintain every ask and wish of the capital budget,” Crane said. “But the reality is we are nowhere near that when it comes to provincial grants, government grants and the tax base.
“So it’s all about prioritizing the capital projects and doing what is necessary.
“The wants sometimes have to tack a backseat to the imperatives.”
The top capital priority for 2021 is Sunset Boulevard, which needs an entire sewer replacement from the top to the bottom of the hill.
“Three communities plus old town Turner Valley feeds into that main trunk sewer that come down Sunset Boulevard,” Crane said. “To upgrade that is going to help a quarter of the town.”
As it is a highway, the Town has put in a request for extra funding for the project.
At it Nov. 16 meeting, council was informed the price tag of the project has gone up by $380,000, because it was not up to provincial standards.
Council felt that if it is a provincial standard issue, the government should put up some more dollars.
“They are looking at geotechnical reports right now,” Crane said on Dec. 1. “The conversation has started and they are engaged. We’re hoping something good will come out of that.”
The extra funds requested from the Province would go towards the upgrade of the boulevard, it would not deal with the sewage aspect.
Council is also dealing with the 2022 budget as much as possible, in order not to overwhelm the future council elected in October of 2021.
(The new council would have to set a budget two months into its mandate.)
“We don’t want to hamstring the next council,” Crane said. “We want them to be able to just do an overview and start the learning process.”
The next council meeting is Dec. 7. Council is hoping to finalize the budget by the end of 2020.
