BONNYVILLE - "Unbudgeted expenses, to me, doesn’t sound like a good thing. If you haven’t budgeted for something, then you’re digging into your pot of money to cover it."
Coun. Dana Swigart expressed his concerns over the MD of Bonnyville's $1.8 million in unbudgeted expenditures, which were brought before council during their meeting on May 26.
“As of December, when the budget was passed the total approved budget was $150,232,069,” explained General Manager of Corporate Services Tolulope Maraiyesa.
Now, with the added expenses, the budget is sitting at around $152,083,352.
Maraiyesa stressed that the increase to the 2021 budget doesn't mean the MD will face a deficit or see a change to their tax rates.
“There is no request for new tax dollars to fund this, the fund was determined at the time the motion was passed, but the expenditure increased the budget,” she explained.
As of May 12, the municipality has approved the purchase of a giant swing for the Kinosoo Ridge Adventure Park. It came with a price tag of $88,000 and was funded through unrestricted reserves. The MD's Legacy Fund covered the cost of the Bert Layh Memorial Park Pickle Ball Court ($33,219.50), Bonnyville Golf and Country Club irrigation system ($350,000), and the Iron River Parent Association's playground project ($125,000).
Over $255,000 was taken from the bridge fund reserve to pay for the replacement of a bridge on Range Rd. 485 south of Hwy. 28, while $91,163 of road improvement reserves paid for powerlines.
The Village of Glendon drainage project ($400,000) and the Cold Lake Hearts for Healthcare physician program ($150,000) were pulled from cashflow reserves.
Equipment replacement reserves were used to purchase a heavy truck ($1.1 million), lighting at the Bonnyville Airport ($400,000), buy a hydraulic excavator ($303,866), and a water distribution pump for Fort Kent and Ardmore ($50,000).
The MD postponed a three-mile road project on Twp. Rd. 610 from Hwy. 28 to Range Rd. 460 to 2022 opening up $2.8 million which was used to cover the municipality's taxation shortfall for this year. Engineering for the project is still slated to be completed in 2021.
“These are unbudgeted expenditures because at the December 16, 2020 meeting when the budget was approved, these expenditures were not a part of it. These are expenses that came up after we passed the budget and even though they’re funded from funds that we already had, it became a part of the budget when the motion was made to update the expenditure,” explained Maraiyesa.
Council passed their revised $152 million budget.
