Examining the budget

This year’s proposed municipal budget is one of the city’s best, concluded one councillor following a question-and-answer session with city administration.

Administration met with councillors informally in a boardroom on the third floor of city hall Thursday to discuss the proposed 2010 municipal operating budget. General managers from several city departments stationed themselves at a table as councillors trickled in to ask questions about what they read in the proposed budget.

Coun. Aldo Ruberto said he was satisfied with the proposed budget, which includes a 1.88 per cent tax increase, tabled by city administration.

"This is probably one of the best budgets ever brought in," Coun. Ruberto said after attending the informal meeting. "The (tax rate) actually went down. Based on projections for this year coming up, the municipal assessment is going to go up and that will drive the taxes up 1.88 per cent."

While the modest tax increase pleased Coun. Ruberto, he said he attended the meeting to ask administration if there was anything they needed that was missing from the proposed operating budget.

He said administration seemed comfortable that everything they needed in the budget was in it.

"Is there room for cutting more?" Coun. Ruberto asked. "Not without cutting services, not without cutting jobs. The last thing we want to do in this municipality within this economy is cut jobs."

Coun. Larry Hebert also gave the proposed budget an overall positive review. The at-large councillor attended the meeting to get clarification about some portions of the budget.

"A lot of people are hurting, both residentially and some small businesses, so we have to be mindful of that," Coun. Hebert said. "While we have a low tax rate, we don’t want to be banging up the rates in other areas. I think we have to find a good balance."

Coun. Rebecca Johnson also said she had an overall positive attitude toward the operating budget, but added that there were a number of areas worth revisiting.

"We’re increasing staff by, I think, seven," she said. "I have issues with increasing staff at this time. The city is the biggest employer in the community and to be adding staff at this time, I don’t think it’s what we should be doing."

Coun. Johnson said the proposed budget lacks a focus, adding that the city, as a community, needs to start looking at what it really wants.

Maintaining all city services, which is what Coun. Johnson believes this budget is trying to do, does not make sense given the municipality’s economic situation.

"We can no longer continue to do what we are doing now, we don’t have those dollars and the average citizen can’t afford all of this so we have to take a really strong look at long-term."

Conn. Johnson said she also wants to make sure the budget is balanced. She said she doesn’t want to take a look at this budget in the future to find major variances and shortfalls that the city will eventually need to makeup for.

A special committee of the whole meeting for pre-budget consultations of the 2010 operating budget is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 6:30 p.m. at city hall.