If you thought this week was tough, just wait until next year.
No, I’m not talking about the latest machinations from the maniac mustering malevolence from Mar-A-Lago. I’m talking about the city budget.
By the time you read this, Fernie city council will have mustered up some courage, or not, and we’ll have a better idea of how much city residents will by paying this year. Full disclosure, I live outside the city limits so I can present a completely unbiased view while secretly chortling at my lower taxes … at least for now, the regional district have something to say about that.
As of writing this, before Tuesday’s council meeting on Mar. 11, the city was looking at a 7.48 per cent tax increase. This year's proposed tax levy is currently higher than last year's 6.1 per cent increase, in order to accommodate an increase in road-related infrastructure costs and put more money into reserves for future infrastructure projects.
"We weren't going to decrease services, we were going to keep them at the level they were and keep what efficiencies we could," Mayor Nic Milligan told the Free Press.
Not everyone on council is in agreement.
‘I reviewed all the citizens budget survey data, the key concerns and actions expressed were: 1 Reducing administrative costs, 2 Adjusting firehall and fire expenditures, 3 Prioritizing core infrastructure and snow removal improvements, 4 Exploring alternative revenue sources such as fee increases instead of tax hikes 5 Reassessing discretionary grants and programs, and 6 Optimizing waste collection costs,” Coun. Harshan Ramadass posted on his Facebook page. “I don’t believe the current plan adequately addresses any of these concerns, while upping taxes by an extra point to the baseline that staff had proposed.”
Coun. Kevin McIsaac would like to see the city top up its reserves, which is short-term pain for long-term gain as the city’s aging infrastructure has no magic skin cream that reverses the aging process.
"Our Community Centre presents a very stark example of what happens when we're unable to respond to expensive problems because we don't have reserves," he told council.
So, there were probably some lively discussions Tuesday night.
The elephant in the room, of course, is the firehall replacement. The financial plan this year calls for $1.5 million in borrowing (not sure if all that is for the firehall) and $18.5 million next year (pretty sure that’s for the firehall).
That borrowing, of course, is dependent on a successful referendum, likely later this year. Financing that debt, will be part of the 2026 budget.
While we don’t know exactly how much the borrowing cost will be, it will have an impact on next year’s budget. In addition, the budget pressures on the city today, won’t disappear by next year.
My only advice for council as it looks to March 25 for the final adoption of the budget, is the old saying “no sacred cows” (probably culturally inappropriate these days, but appropriate for the city budget). What it means is everything is on the table when it comes to budget discussions and that usually means pet projects are off the table.
Council must focus on what needs to be done, not what it would like to see done.
Bill Phillips is an award-winning columnist with 35 years of experience in community journalism.
