Water Meter Replacement / 2012 Operational Budget

WATER METER REPLACEMENT PROGRAM
I've received many comments of support from the public on my position on the Water Meter Replacement Program that was covered in the local media.  I want to clarify that I'm not against the program itself, but rather the timing and how it was unfair to new developments. 

At the last council meeting we made an amendment to the Utility Rates Bylaw which delays the charge for new meters until AFTER the Water Meter Replacement Program is complete.  This ensures that new developers are not being charged twice for the same thing which was an issue for me and I'm happy that administration reviewed my concern and came back with an amendment.   

Our Utilities Supervisor and administration is very well aware of my issues and have worked hard to keep me informed on the progress of the project which is already underway. I'm happy to hear that our utilities department is not just going out and replacing meters... they are actually looking at each building to make sure the right sized meter is installed and that everything is working properly.   This will increase efficiency and ensure that the end user is being billed correctly based on usage.   I'm confident this project is being carried out properly.

OPERATIONAL BUDGET

I've heard many comments from people who say, "I pay my taxes and all I get is my snow plowed once a year!"  It's interesting that people relate the amount of times snow removal happens in their neighbourhood to how much in taxes they pay.  I guess a grader is one of the most tangible things that can be seen in a neighbourhood that is funded through municipal tax dollars.  The reality is there are some huge costs associated to running a municipality.  Everything from street lights, recreation to policing cost the municipality a huge amount of money.   Policing for example has a $2.2 Million dollar price tag on its own this year for the Town of Edson.

About a 1/3 of all tax dollars collected by the Town get transferred to Schools & the Evergreen Foundation for education and seniors. Not all of the money collected goes to the Town of Edson for municipal purposes.  Many people don't realize that. 

Below is a break down of our Interim Operational Budget which is directly funded through municipal tax revenue as well as other sources of income.  Items in our Capital Budget are not funded directly through municipal taxes as they are paid through Grants, Reserves and Debentures.  I've covered our Capital Budget in a previous blog which you can review by clicking here.

We are projecting a 5% overall tax increase in 2012... 3.5% due to debenture payments for the Medical Clinic with the remaining to cover increased insurance, staffing and other incremental costs.

EXPENSES                            

2012  Interim         2011 Final Budget

LEGISLATIVE (Council) 
$   229 425                $   222 425    (Up due to increased communication expenses)

ADMINISTRATION     
$1 585 409                $1 887 545    (Down due to completion of Centennial Celebrations)

PROTECTIVE SERVICES   
$3 360 096                $3 204 471    (Up mostly due to increased RCMP contract costs)

ROADS, STREETS & EQUIP  
$4 348 902        $4 279 400  (Up due to filling a vacant position & wages)

UTILITIES        
$4 038 089        $3 502 759    (Up due to increases to wages & airport operations)

PUBLIC HEALTH & WELFARE   
$   545 800         $   535 055    (No significant change) 

PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT   
$   562 428         $   577 120    (No significant change)

RECREATION & PARKS   
$3 661 753         $3 699 248    (Down due to less studies & less major maintenance)

CULTURE               
$   545 456          $1 900 767   (Down due to Museum Construction being complete)

TOTAL                                         $18 877 358                   $19 808 800 

REVENUE

NET TAXES                                           $9 732 418                     $9 299 351

OPERATING TRANSFERS                    $3 032 799                    $3 479 286

SALES & USER CHARGE             $4 002 600                    $3 763 892
RETURN ON INVESTMENTS               $     50 750                    $      40 500
PENALTIES & COSTS ON TAXES        $    111 500                    $   108 000
LICENSES AND PERMITS                    $       93 200                   $     93 200
FINES                                                    $     629 000                    $   627 000
FRANCHISE FEES                                 $     566 146                   $   566 146
RENTALS & LEASES                    $     341 607                   $   330 407
DEVELOPMENT LEVIES                      $        30 000                   $     30 000
CUSTOMER CONTRIBUTIONS           $                  0                   $  265 660
TOTAL                                             $18 590 029                     $18 693 442

The 2012 numbers are only interim numbers and will be adjusted at the Final Budget in the spring.  We do not have final 2011 bills in or assessment numbers in at the end of the year but are required to pass a budget before Dec 31st.  If you have any questions or concerns, post them below or email me direct, kevinz@townofedson.ca

On a final note I'd like to congratulation Ian Duncan on being Mayor Elect for the Town of Hinton.  I have a lot of respect for Mr. Duncan and have served with him on the Community Futures over the last year and know that Hinton will be very well served with Ian as their Mayor.  I also wish Glenn Taylor all the best in his role with the Alberta Party.  Glenn has done a lot of good things for Hinton over the years.  All the best of luck to both of you.

Please share this blog with your friends.  The reason I blog is to share information and open up dialogue with the public and want to ensure that people are aware they can come to this page to get updated on issues and get in depth information on issues.  You can sign up to be automatically messaged via email, when my blog is updated.  Just look for the option on the left hand side of this page.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers!

Kevin 

Community Development Master Agreement

At our Council Meeting tomorrow, we will decide on whether or not to sign a 5 year agreement with Yellowhead County. It's for the renewal of the Community Development Master Agreement. This agreement was first introduced by Yellowhead County in 2005 to help support urban municipalities within its borders (Hinton & Edson).


We have several cost share agreements in place with the county to cover the operational costs of things like the Leisure Center, Airport, Fire Department, Recycling Center & Library. This allows for County residents to access these facilities the same as a town resident would. Funding is anywhere between 35% to 50% depending on the agreement and facility. 


The Community Development Master Agreement is over and above these usage agreements.

In 2005, Yellowhead County recognized that both Hinton & Edson were providing important supports to the industrial activity in the county but did not receive any of the tax revenue from it. Yellowhead County gets significant tax revenue from industry so in order to share some of this revenue, they introduced this agreement. In 2011 the Town of Edson received $643 954.00. This amount is unconditional and can be used for both Capital and Operational expenses.


While this amount was significant, pressures on urban municipalities have been great with aging infrastructure and increased demand for services from both Town and County residents. Industrial activity and demand on town services and grown greatly since the agreement first came into place in 2005.

Yellowhead County recognized that while the old agreement was a good start, some changes needed to be made to help keep Edson & Hinton sustainable. They drafted a new agreement which divides the county into 3 service areas and uses the provincial MSI grant to the county as a baseline for funding. Based on the mathematics, Edson will now receive $2.26 Million in 2012 under the Community Development Master Agreement which will more than triple what we received in 2011.

In exchange for this funding, county residents will be able to access facilities the same as a town resident would, the county will be able to connect to the town water & sewer system at their cost.

By signing we also agree that this partnership shows a great deal of cooperation from Yellowhead County and we will agree not to pursue amalgamation, annexation or dissolution unless both parties agree to pursue such an initiative.

Council will discuss and vote on this agreement tomorrow at our council meeting at 1:30pm. Hinton Town Council has already signed off on it.

I think the agreement shows a GREAT spirit of cooperation from Yellowhead County that would be hard to be matched anywhere in the province. The terms of the agreement are fair and the calculation on how to distribute funds makes sense based on the non residential assessment in the Edson service area.

This funding will help Edson a lot over the next few years as we have struggled to maintain services and improve infrastructure and facilities without massive tax hikes.

While I believe this increase in funding will help for the short term, amalgamation needs to be the long term solution to help build a stronger region. I believe the border that separates the town and county, is fading. We are one community, working and playing in each others back yards. The border that separates us serves no real purpose and I think holds us back.

We need to sit down together and have and look at the positives and negatives in joining together as one municipality. If anything it would open our eyes to each others challenges and could provide for some even stronger relationships moving forward.

These are just my thoughts and individual members of council will have their own opinions. 

As always you can email me your thoughts or opinions at kevinz@townofedson.ca or post them below.

Remember you can get automatic updates on when my blog is updated.  Just look for the sign up box on the left hand side of this page under the facebook links.
- Kevin