Morinville taxes to rise 4%

Morinville town council approved a four per cent tax hike this week after a contentious budget vote marked by a lot of haggling and a little begging.

Council voted 5 to 2 in favour of its 2012 budget Tuesday night after an hour and a half of debate. The roughly $10.5 million operating budget projects a four per cent tax hike — about $73.55 more a year for the average homeowner, according to Andy Isbister, the town's director of corporate services. The budget will also include about $5.5 million in capital spending.

When first presented in mid November, the proposed budget featured a $50,700 operating deficit. Council and administration have since trimmed $770,500 in operational and capital spending, Isbister said, greatly reducing the amount of cash the town had to take out of its reserves.

While these cuts could have translated into a tax cut, he explained in an interview that council instead chose to direct them into reserves. The 2012 budget now has a roughly $176,800 operational reserve, instead of no reserve as it did in the first draft.

Coun. Gordon Boddez criticized the tax hike and, along with Coun. Ben Van De Walle, voted against the budget.

Boddez complained that the town is draining its reserves to cover deficits while also ramping up spending — he estimated that wages were set to rise about 10 per cent.

"I don't think we're really showing restraint," he said.

Morinville has the second-highest tax rate in the region after St. Albert, Boddez said, citing a City of Edmonton study, and taxpayers are pushing back.

"Unless we start showing more restraint as a municipality, we're going to get in a lot of trouble," he said.

He did not, however, offer any suggestions on what to cut from the budget.

Boddez did say that a $150,000 cut to the town's operating budget proposed by Mayor Lloyd Bertschi should have been used to reduce the proposed tax hike to 2.75 per cent.

"We do not need a four per cent tax increase," he argued — property values were set to rise, and that would reduce the amount of additional tax the town needed to charge.

Isbister explained that council could not lower the tax rate based on property assessments since those assessments had yet to be done.

"That's why we're only estimating that taxes will go up by no more than four per cent," he said. (Council will set its mill rate in March. If house values go up more than expected, council could lower its tax rate.)

Bertschi blasted Boddez for his apparent ignorance of this process. "Five years you've been sitting here, and you don't understand how the taxes work," he snapped. "I can't believe you're sitting there with that grin on your face!"

Pretty please, Mr. CFO?

Coun. Nicole Boutestein won over council with her impassioned plea for $50,000 to get shelves and a book scanner for the Morinville Public Library. Council had defeated a similar motion from her during second reading.

The library needs this cash now in order to have these items ready when St. Germain Plaza reopens, Boutestein said.

"Can we, Mr. CFO?" she said, addressing Isbister in an intentionally childlike manner. "Please, please, please?"

Coun. Paul Krauskopf supported her motion, noting that the library will be the star attraction at the town's renovated St. Germain Plaza.

"It would be awful sad to see books sitting in boxes or milk crates," he said.

That's a real risk if this cash is not approved, said Coun. Lisa Holmes. The library has had a mere six months to raise money for new furniture, she said, and is currently using old shelves from the United Way.

"We could have temporary-type shelving in the library," she warned. "When people walk into [this] brand new building, they will see milk crates."

Council voted 5-2 in favour of Boutestein's motion, with Couns. Boddez and David Pattison opposed. Isbister said this item would not affect the tax rate as it could come from unallocated grants.

Van De Walle blocked

Van De Walle proposed to cut a $75,000 item meant to upgrade administration's computers.

"I'm not saying we don't need any technology," he said, but he argued that this upgrade process would take a lot of time and money, and that the town could get the initial scoping work done this year with its current staff.

Administration does not have the capacity to do that, said interim chief administrative officer Debbie Oyarzun. The town uses a hodgepodge of incompatible systems that keep it from making better use of social media and geographical information systems (GIS), she said — this money is meant to find a solution.

"This is where our biggest inefficiency is — our technology," she said. "I'm really nervous about this [cut]."

Bertschi accused Van De Walle of using reverse psychology, noting that he had been calling for this kind of upgrade plan for years. Van De Walle's motion was defeated 6-1.

Van De Walle later proposed eliminating the position of deputy CAO, which was budgeted at about $309,000 for next year.

Bertschi shot that down immediately. The last few months have shown that the CAO has an "insane" workload, he said, and amply demonstrates the need for a deputy.

"It is absolute folly to (a) eliminate that position and (b) even talk about staffing," he said, as staff positions are the purview of the CAO. Other councillors noted that an upcoming efficiency review would also look at staffing.

Council defeated this motion 6-1.

Festival cash

Citing a presentation from festival director Paul Smith, Holmes moved to contribute $30,000 to next year's St. Jean Baptiste Festival instead of the usual $20,000.

Smith had previously asked council for $40,000 in seed money to make the festival self-sufficient. That cash would cover the insurance risks for events like a concert series, which currently must be covered by festival volunteers. Proceeds from those events would then fund future festivals.

While council generally agreed that volunteers should not have to take on such risks, Pattison cautioned that there was no way to ensure that the next festival director would continue Smith's plans of self-sufficiency. The motion passed 6-1, with Pattison opposed.

The finished budget will soon be available on the town's website.