Flin Flon city council plans to pump nearly $5 million into capital projects while trimming overall costs with a proposed budget that promises greater efficiency.
Council unveiled its proposed 2015 budget on Tuesday with a new public works shop and a potential seven-figure water treatment plant tab among the new investments.
“We wanted to hold the line and we wanted to see what we could accomplish with the existing budget [expenditures],” said Mayor Cal Huntley. “We’re comfortable we’re going to take some ground. I think we’ve adjusted some dollars into the right pots going forward…but it really would be nice at some point in time to get some help on the infrastructure. There’s got to be a different program that comes out from the feds and the province to assist with that.”
Council’s largest planned capital expenditure this year is $2.6 million to purchase the Northern Bus Lines garage and transform it into the city’s new public works shop.
Council has argued the project is necessary given the poor condition of the current shop and the opportunity to buy an existing facility rather than building a new one at likely a greater cost.
Other major capital expenses include $1 million as a contingency amount toward the water treatment plant and $230,000 for a boiler replacement at the Flin Flon Community Hall.
Mill rates
The budget would lessen residential and commercial mill rates by 3.6 and 2.5 per cent respectively, a move meant to offset a proposed $50 boost to the yet-to-be-renewed special services levy.
With total expenses forecast at $12.61 million, council plans to trim spending by $75,100, or less than one per cent, compared to 2014. (The actual budgetted amount is identical to 2014, but council went slightly over budget that year).
City treasurer Glenna Daschuk outlined the budget at a public meeting at the city hall council chambers. A dozen people attended, but only two were unaffiliated with the city or the media.
Daschuk said all departments attempted to limit spending increases to a maximum of three per cent this year, but some were unable to do so.
Environmental health costs went up 13 per cent, Daschuk said, due to provincially mandated work at the municipal landfill.
General development costs increased 17 per cent to fund the demolition and cleanup of properties the city has acquired due to unpaid taxes.
Another area that saw a hike were labour expenses, the result of a three per cent pay increase, succession planning for retirements and the hiring of a temporary workplace safety and health coordinator.
Some other departments saw increases as well, but Daschuk said the extra dollars are offset by a 13 per cent decline in capital spending.
“These measures allow for no increase this year, but no increase is not a viable long-term plan and the budget cannot be held to these levels indefinitely,” said Daschuk.
A major saving comes in water-related expenses, with spending projected to drop $692,181 from 2014. The reason: the long, cold winter of 2013-14 caused an abnormally high number of water line breaks.
Asked about public speculation that the water treatment plant is responsible for the increased number of breaks, Huntley blamed winter conditions and said the city has no evidence the plant played a role.
“If you look across the province or across Canada at that point in time, it was the winter that caused the majority of them,” Huntley said. “I mean, it was happening everywhere.”
In terms of the $4.98 million worth of capital work planned, Mark Kolt, the city’s chief administrative officer, said no projects are carved in stone.
Projects can be displaced “if things happen to suggest that work is more pressing elsewhere,” Kolt said.
The proposed budget assumes the city’s special services levy – designed to raise taxes on low-end homes and lower taxes on high-end homes – will win approval from provincial regulators.
The city hopes to receive the green light for the levy by mid-June. If the levy is rejected, neither expenditures nor revenues would be expected to change, but the mill rate would rise to compensate.
Either way, a final vote among council on whether to approve the budget must wait until the fate of the levy is known.
Cut services?
At one point during the budget presentation, inquisitive taxpayer Greg East suggested that if council is to find ways to save money, a service must be cut.
East listed the Aqua Centre, public transit and the Whitney Forum as possibilities, at which point the focus of the conversation shifted to the Aqua Centre.
Huntley said the Aqua Centre and other recreational services should not be viewed through strictly a financial lens.
“There’s the social side to it with what makes up a community and a small city, and we’d be bereft if we didn’t have the opportunity to offer swimming lessons, a pool to attract people to our community,” Huntley said. “It sends a different signal about where your community is at, too. It’s not to say we won’t get to a point where we may have to [cut services], but I don’t think we’re anywhere close to there right now.
“And as I’ve said before, I’m tired of the doom and gloom around Flin Flon [because] we’ve got a vibrant community, we’re going to try and maintain services as best we can and we’re able to do that with this budget, with no increases. We’re going to do some capital projects and we’re putting dollars away for some of the equipment reserves. So I think we’re in a very positive [position] right now and we’ll review things as we go forward, but I’m not about cutting the significant community services that indicate you’re a growing, lively city.”
The proposed budget would bring the city’s overall debt to $8.91 million. The city can carry a maximum debt of about $16 million.
Capital spending
The city’s proposed budget contains $4.98 million in capital spending, consisting of:
• $2.6 million to purchase the Northern Bus Lines garage and renovate it to become the new public works garage.
• $1 million as a contingency amount for potential costs related to the water treatment plant.
• $230,000 for a boiler replacement at the Community Hall.
• $144,500 as an emergency contingency amount.
• $140,000 for tandem truck replacement.
• $130,000 to replacing piping along the stretch of Channing Drive near the Vocational Training Centre.
• $120,000 to relocate sewer and water lines to accommodate the new ER department at the Flin Flon General Hospital. This amount will count toward the community fundraising requirement for the ER.
• $110,000 for a sand truck replacement.
• $90,000 for roadwork on East Whitney Street.
• $45,000 for a fire department vehicle.
• $40,000 for roadwork on Dadson Row.
• $40,000 for roadwork on Oak Avenue.
• $35,000 for a storm sewer along a section of Third Avenue.
• $33,500 for a study on converting the Northern Bus Lines garage into the new public works garage.
• $33,500 for a study to examine renovations to the Flin Flon Municipal Airport terminal.
• $30,000 for a pickup truck replacement.
• $27,000 for flooring and painting at the RCMP station.
• $25,000 for airport vehicle replacement.
• $25,000 for an HVAC system at the Community Hall.
• $20,000 for parging (exterior brick work) and cladding at the RCMP and Flin Flon Fire Dept. building.
• $20,000 to repair a planter veneer in front of city hall.
• $15,000 to study drainage problems at cemeteries.
• $10,000 for parging on the front of city hall.
• $10,000 for stucco at the Flin Flon Public Library.
• $10,000 to repair the shower in the residential portion of the Flin Flon Fire Dept.
