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Jeff Labine, tbnewswatch.com
Current River Coun. Andrew Foulds pours over budget material on Feb. 21, 2012.
City Manager Tim Commisso apologized to council Tuesday for leaving $7 million out of the municipal budget.
Administration admitted to the oversight when it failed to include funding for two new fire halls and the renovation of four fire halls to accommodate shared facilities with EMS to the $225 million city budget.
Council had unanimously approved that funding in January.
Commisso said administration was directed to include the $7 million for the shared emergency facility in the budget, but there was an oversight in sending a memo and it wasn’t included.
He said the funding would come from the city’s reserve fund and wouldn’t impact the budget.
“I acknowledge it should have been in the budget,” Commisso said during the budget meeting at City Hall.
“It wasn’t and it needs to be in the budget. It’s $7 million which $5.8 million is being recommended from the stabilization. It’s an appropriate use of the stabilization because it is a onetime expenditure.”
He said it was a timing issue because the budget booklet was being printed at the same time they were getting direction on what to do with the shared space.
Regardless of the reasons, Commisso admitted that they made the mistake.
“There should have been a memo,” he said. “There should have been something to accompany it on the basis that there was an approved motion. There wasn’t and we acknowledge that.”
Commisso added if they defer the matter to the 2013 budget then they won’t be able to approve the construction to go ahead this year.
Coun. Rebecca Johnson voiced her opposition to using the reserved fund and questioned the legitimacy of using the city’s reserve funds.
“We’ve been talking about this reserve fund for other areas that we didn’t want to use it for in these budget deliberations,” Johnson said.
“Now you’re suggesting this is what we will use this $7 million from. I don’t understand how you cannot do it for one thing and now we’re going to do it for this thing. We don’t have $7 million.”
Northwood Ward Coun. Mark Bentz said the matter was already voted on during a committee of the whole and that it was just an oversight.
“We already put the money in,” Bentz said. “What they are proposing is financing that doesn’t impact the tax rate because it is coming out of reserve. It is not going to impact the tax rate.”
Council then voted and passed the proposed budget. Johnson was one of the two who voted against the budget
She said they needed to look for more ways to be efficient with the budget.
“I have a real problem with the fact that we’re going to increase our staff by 24 people,” Johnson said.
“We are not taking staff away at the other end so I don’t think that’s appropriate at this time. I have no problem with the 1.5 per cent for infrastructure but I think 1.1 per cent or more for operations should not be happening. I feel very strongly that this community can afford those increases.”
She added that council has to ratify the budget before being implemented.
McKellar ward Coun. Paul Pugh disagreed and said it was a good budget.
“I’m going to support it,” Pugh said. “We’re getting a good bang for our buck. Our citizens are getting a lot.”
Before passing the budget, council discussed an $84,000 amendment to the budget. The funding would go to a number of organizations but ultimately, council voted to defer the matter until March 5.
Coun. Mark Bentz was against the amendment and said it would have increased the budget.
Mayor Keith Hobbs was also against the amendment and added he needed more information before he could vote.
Council will have another budget deliberation meeting on Wednesday.
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