Council settles on 2024 budget

Also, a request to increase the road rehabilitation budget by $300,000 to offset increased costs around asphalt and aggregate failed, keeping that budget at $6.7 million.

A request from the RCMP for four additional officers at a cost of $883,128 was also debated at length. There was a motion put forward by Councillor Tim Bennett to fund two additional, cutting that budget in half. Council ultimately settled on approving the addition of four officers, but only in June, keeping the budget at $441,564.

A motion to cut the budgets for two outreach workers from the Bylaw Services budget was debated, with Councillor Kyle Sampson saying those positions need to be funded by the Province as part of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in May. Council opted to keep the two positions and lobby the Province for the funds.

The capital budget was also approved, but Council has pulled several from the “unfunded” list to be discussed in a Committee of the Whole meeting at a later date.

With the final tax levy set, Council will now have to determine the tax burden on the various categories, such as residential, commercial, industrial and business.

The City must present a balanced budget to the Province no later than May 15th.

by Cheryl Jahn

Council settles on 2024 budget

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