Council forms snow removal fund
Council unanimously approved the creation of a snowy day reserve fund, Feb. 18.
That fund, created with the surplus from last year鈥檚 contracted services budget, is to ensure that in years with above average snowfall, there is enough money to keep the roads clear without the municipality having to over budget.
The reserve fund, which maxes out at $60,000, will cover the cost of contracted services鈥攄ump trucks, loaders and equipment operators鈥攐ver and above the $150,000 that is budgeted.
Contracted services are only utilized following a large snowfall, when the municipality鈥檚 staff and equipment are not enough to clear the road in a timely manner.
鈥淚f you have a light snowfall and you have time to clear it, you don鈥檛 necessarily have to contract so much, but if you get a huge dump and you鈥檙e trying to clear very quickly, then you have to contract those extra pieces of equipment,鈥� explained Alice Lettner, director of finance.
This year, $50,000 has been put into the reserve鈥�$48,000 of which was unexpended funds from the 2013 budget.
鈥淚 think this is a great thing to have for future planning and keeping our operational budgets and taxation down to a minimum in the future,鈥� said Coun. Rico Damota.
As well as allowing the municipality to budget more conservatively, the reserve will also allow the operations department to provide more consistent services to the town鈥檚 roads. That鈥檚 because the contracted services budget, until last week, included both snow removal and summer road maintenance.
With the creation of the reserve, those two budgets were split, ensuring that the operations department can now plan ahead for road maintenance鈥攍ine painting and road repairs鈥攚ithout having to consider the funds allotted to snow removal.
Preparing for an influx of babies
With a mini baby boom last year, the daycare is preparing for an influx of young babes this spring.
Kathleen Waxer, director of community and family services, said in order to accommodate all of the families with new babies, there will likely be a restructuring of the daycare, to create enough room.
鈥淭here鈥檚 many, many regulations around what age of children can go in which room,鈥� she explained to council. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a complex thing, so we鈥檙e looking at ways to ensure that all the families that require infant care will be accommodated as quickly as possible.
鈥淲e could use a bigger room and you鈥檙e allowed to have double the group size, as long as you have enough staff.鈥�
Waxer also noted that daycare is run much differently than school, as the children move from one group to the next depending on their birthday and their developmental status.
鈥淪o movement occurs constantly, especially in the infant room.
鈥淏ecause of the maternity laws, most children enter our daycare at 13 months and they are only in the infant room between 13 and 19 months. So there鈥檚 continual movement forward.鈥�
CFS annual report
The community and family services department completed its annual report and presented it to council last week.
The report, presented by the department鈥檚 director, Kathleen Waxer, is meant to highlight the fact that CFS is more than just a list of programs.
鈥淭here is a vision and a mission for what we鈥檙e trying to do,鈥� she explained. 鈥淎s a result of our work we hope to reduce the risk factors for people who live in the community and increase protective factors and resiliency for community members.鈥�
CFS is a department with four arms; it鈥檚 responsible for community development, childcare, outreach and disaster social services. Jasper鈥檚 model for the department is one that鈥檚 unique to the community and has garnered attention from provincial ministers, who believe it could be a good model for other communities as well.
To see a copy of the annual report, visit the municipality鈥檚 website at www.jasper-alberta.com and find it with the Feb. 18 council agenda.
