No Expected Tax Increase for Bonnyville

Town facing an operating budget deficit for 2017

The Town of Bonnyville hosted their annual open house on Tuesday evening with a few community members in attendance. The Town displayed their proposed intern operating and capital budgets for 2017 and discussed various items in the budgets.

“2017 is not as bleak, but if it is we do have a battle plan in place,” Mayor of Bonnyville, Gene Sobolewski says the Town expects that the worse is behind us, economically. “I’m always a glass half-full and we can see what we can do to position our community, again, to be one of the top economic local economies in Alberta.”

While the capital budget will be balanced for 2017, at $14,650,365, the operating budget will run a deficit of $689,983. Despite the deficit Town Council and Administration do not foresee an increase to the residential or business taxes. Taxes coming from the Province, the Education and Seniors’ requisition could increase overall taxes; however those are not set or determined by the Town.

Options to balance the operating budget include:

• Transfer funds from RCMP operating reserves $70,500
• Transfer funds from C2 operating reserves $100,000
• Add a portion of landfill liability by transferring funds from landfill operating reserve $40,250

= $210,750

• Transfer remaining needed funds from general operating reserves $479,233

Over the past few year when there has been an annual surplus of funds, the Town has transferred these funds into various operating reserves to help when economic times, such as this, occur. 

The operating budget allocates money to be spent on the general operations of the Town, here is a breakdown for 2017:

• Public Works $3,154,250
  • Administration $516,666
  • Town Shop $633,566
  • Roads, Streets, Walks & Lighting $2,316,920
  • Airport $34,017
  • Water $860,031
  • Water Treatment Plant $1,243,400
  • Sanitary Sewer & Sewage Treatment $642,709
  • Storm Sewer $15,000
  • Solid Waste & Landfill/Transfer Station $102,579
• Protective Services $2,025,206
  • Police Services $1,473,426
  • Fire Services $346,081
  • 911 Services $62,904
  • Ambulance No Revenue Generated
  • Disaster Services $12,000
  • Occupational Health & Safety $136,295
  • By Law Enforcement $5,500
• Centennial Centre $1,017,245
• Parks $483,328
• Council $425,762
• Pool $308,110
• Planning & Development $287,955
• Library $174,897
• Recreation $116,094
• FCSS $41,996
• Museum $30,000

“We were one of the strongest local economies in all the province of Alberta,” Mayor Sobolewski says Bonnyville’s resiliency is going to shine and that indicators show the worst may just be behind us. “We know that the upswing and the general prosperity will bring us back.”

“At our last Council meeting when we, as a Council, saw the $689,983 deficit we knew the sky wasn’t falling in; but we have to be very judicious and prudent moving forward, so that we don’t get ourselves into trouble by extending ourselves too far.”

LCN will have more on the Town of Bonnyville’s Budget, including the Capital Budget, as well as updates on projects, such as the pool, town hall and road construction over the next couple days.