Thoroughness is key to a successful budget process.
There is always something to add or cut, but what’s important is deciding which is which.
On Tuesday, council approved an interim operating budget for 2014. This is the second year in a row that it has taken this approach. This year the decision was made in order for the mayor and council to review the year-end numbers for 2013 and to allow for additional time for deliberation.
As the budget stands, administration is requesting a 6.38 per cent tax increase—1.66 per cent more than the approved increase for 2013.
Within the proposed budget, the largest increase comes from the administration department, which is requesting a 22 per cent increase over its budget from the previous year.
Council has highlighted a number of line items within the department’s budget that it would like to discuss further.
Some of those items include the regional air carrier study, the benchmarking study, the land use and planning study and the hiring of an administrative assistant for council.
Although each item could be ticked off as justifiable, council has asked to know more, in order to determine just how important each item is and how necessary it is for the sustainability of the community.
During the budget process, this kind of questioning is important, especially in a town with zero opportunity for growth, because it’s the same tax payers who bear the brunt of council’s decisions each year.
For those homeowners and business owners, no matter how justifiable a line items is, a 6.38 per cent tax increase isn’t sustainable.
That’s why it’s not only important that council take its time as it goes through the proposed budget, but that it continue its quest to find alternative revenue sources for the community.
Without another source of income, annual budget increases will eventually cripple the people who live and work in Jasper, and put a home or business even further out of reach for many of the town’s residents.
Council likely won’t make a final decision on the budget until March. We hope between now and then it is able to find some places to scrimp and save, making this year’s increase a bit more palatable for the community’s tax base.
