Mayor Bob Simpson, also the Chair of the Financial Sustainability and Audit Committee, went over a number of budget pressures for 2020-2021 at this week’s Council meeting.
He says the biggest one has to do with Baker Creek…
“While staff continue to work with the provincial and federal governments on funding, it will be some form of a hit to our budgets, on the sewer side which is the biggest potential hit for us on our contribution towards that.  The lions share will be picked up by the disaster financial assistance but we do have to come up with our share.”
Simpson says they do have sewer reserves and a sewer surplus to pay for that.
He says they’re still not sure how much rip rap will be needed along the banks of Baker Creek as well.
Simpson noted that they also have other vulnerabilities as well due to Covid-19…
“Around the loss of airport revenue and the loss of the casino funding, and with our city snow budget already at 80 percent, we should expect that we will be going into some financial deficit in 20-21.”
Simpson says staff will continue to do everything that they can to hold the line on all discretionary spending, and wherever things can be stood down, that will happen as well.