January 11, 2012
Town moves up budget
process
by Vance Gutzman
Deep River will be getting a handle on its yearly expenditures earlier
in the coming years.
Town council approved a recommendation from its finance and
administration committee which will see the budget process start months
earlier than the status quo.
Instead of establishing budget guidelines in January, as is currently
the case, the new draft budget policy will see the finance and
administration committee meeting in September to do that work.
Municipal staff will then prepare a draft operating budget for that
committee's consideration in November, for subsequent review by all of
council in December.
A public meeting regarding the draft budget will be held in January,
and the finance and administration committee will take the public's
comments into consideration, incorporating them into a final budget
document that will be approved by council in February.
The town's current budgetary procedure sees a council receiving a final
budget in May.
"It's a fairly aggressive schedule, compared to the way we have been
doing budgets," Councillor Terry Myers pointed out at council's meeting
December 21, where the draft policy was approved.
Myers added that, while the town still won't be able to set tax rates
until the spring, setting its operating and capital budgets ahead of
time will allow it to plan better for the outlay of expenditures.
"A budget like that is more reactive than forward-looking," he said of
the old way of doing things.
"The trick is to try to get ahead of the curve."
Deputy Mayor Daniel Banks, who chairs the finance and administration
committee, and who was also chairing last week's council meeting in the
absence of Mayor David Thompson, said the new system should benefit the
town greatly when it comes to capital outlays.
"The construction season is relatively short here. If we don't pass a
budget until June, we put off work that could otherwise have been
done," Banks said.
"There's some benefit there if we can give our contractors more
flexibility."
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