Neepawa approves 2016 budget

Details

Published on Thursday, May 5, 2016

By Eoin Devereux

The Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press

The financial plan for the Town of Neepawa has been approved. On Tuesday, May 3, Council gave second and third reading to the document, which allocates $7,655,027.81 towards the general operating fund and $5,047,751.51 to the utility operating fund.

Compared to the 2015 budget, that’s an increase in spending of $936,897 towards general and $1,969,431 for utility. The majority of that extra funding however, is being transferred from the town’s reserve funds and will not impact the mill rates for property owners.

In a previous council meeting, it was stated that a large portion of the money shifted from the reserves will be used directly for the construction of the new fire hall ($1.3 million), the purchase of a new fire truck ($395,722) and computer upgrades and replacement ($15,000). Mayor Adrian de Groot said the extra spending is going towards the future of Neepawa, while keeping the cost to ratepayers as minimal as possible.

“[The budget] sets a tone. It sets that vision. It sets that there is a future. We want to be able to articulate that, not only in our strategic plan, but we want to back that up with a budget that supports that,” said de Groot. 

As for the direct impact to residential and commercial ratepayers, the tax impact will vary, depending on the assessed value of their property. For 2016, the municipal mill rate, which is used to calculate the property tax, will be 22.47 mills. That’s a decrease of 1.77 mills from 2015, or about seven per cent. A tax impact calculator can be located on the town’s website under Budget 2016 to figure out individual rates.

Before the budget was formally approved, a presentation was made by the Neepawa Natives Junior ‘A’ hockey club, asking Town Council to consider making changes to its distribution of grants. The team was shut out of the grants, after receiving $5,000 last year and $10,000 in 2014. Team president Ken Waddell and vice president Cam Tibbett provided an in-depth examination of the residual financial impact of the Natives to the community and asked that the decision be revisited. As part of the presentation, the team asked council for $30,000 in indirect support. That would see $25,000 given to the Yellowhead Centre to cover ice fees and $5,000 to NACTV to pay for the cost of the league mandated broadcasting of games. 

The Yellowhead Centre board of directors meanwhile, sent a correspondence to the council asking for assistance with the first stage of its capital improvement project, which includes installation of new lighting, a dehumidifier and a low E ceiling in the arena. Though they did not make a formal presentation on Tuesday, the Viscount Cultural Centre has also been vocal in recent weeks in requesting council reconsider its grant distribution. The VCC’s grant amount went from $10,000 to $5,000.

In regard to those requests, de Groot noted that even though the financial plan has received final approval, where the spending goes can still be adjusted. He noted that council still has the option to discuss changes in spending, whether it’s for grants or other items, as long as they don’t change the mill rate.

“You have all types of flexibility within the financial plan, within your budget. But, you just don’t start all willy-nilly, throwing things here or throwing things there. You have to say ‘Okay, if you want to put money here, where are you going to get it?’ You can’t affect that bottom line. You can’t affect mill rate,” stressed de Groot.

For the future, de Groot said the town would like to reevaluate the budget process to ensure that it serves the majority of Neepawa residents.

“Looking at the process, we’re constantly evaluating. It’s a very dynamic and very live kind of a process,” said de Groot.  “We are constantly looking at the community that we serve.”