St. Albert city council is about two weeks into the 2011 budget process and so far there have been lots of inquiries but no golden nuggets, said Mayor Nolan Crouse.
Council has now had five budget meetings, during which they've flagged dozens of issues and made numerous motions and information requests, but so far there have been no game-changing cuts or additions.
"I would say that there's a balance between adding money in and subtracting money," Crouse said. "There haven't been any golden nuggets yet."
Council has been very questioning and has made several requests for information as its new members learn, he said.
The proposed budget compiled by city administration would increase residential property taxes by 3.6 per cent and non-residential taxes by 3.64 per cent.
For hire
The proposed budget calls for the addition of 10 full-time employees at a cost of $626,600. New positions sought include two police supervisors, a municipal enforcement supervisor, a development officer, a safety codes officer and a safety codes permit issuer.
Administration is also seeking to create a new position of corporate marketing manager.
Council heard administration's pitch for that position Thursday evening. The position would oversee a move into social media as a way for city hall to communicate with residents, said director of corporate communications director Mike Kluttig.
The city's current marketing efforts are fragmented due to limited collaboration among departments and the new position would increase collaboration and cross-marketing, create more continuity and potentially cost savings, Kluttig said.
Several councillors asked whether the position would generate extra revenue for the city.
"There's a message here from all of council that to be successful with this business case, you're going to have to show some revenue," Crouse said.
Council will debate the merits of the proposed new positions later in the budget process.
Coun. Roger Lemieux feels the new council is already taking a serious look at any new hiring.
Overall, he feels the new council has been diligent in trying to chip away at operational spending while not looking to cut whole programs.
"There seems to be a trend in wanting to cut some operating costs," he said.
The budget put forward by administration is already pretty bare bones but most of the council inquiries appear aimed at finding areas to cut, agreed Coun. Cathy Heron.
"Everybody has the same sense that we need fiscal restraint so it's going well," she said. "I'm confident that we'll bring it below 3.6."
Council spent some time Thursday dissecting the reasons for a 9.5 per cent utility fee increase in 2011. A number of motions emerged aimed at providing clarity and alternatives.
Coun. Cam MacKay wanted to know how much it would cost if the city contracted out its entire garbage collection service.
Fund this
A couple of motions have emerged calling for new funding programs to be moved from the unfunded list to the funded list.
Coun. Wes Brodhead wants the city's train whistle cessation projects, estimated to total $500,000, moved from unfunded to funded. MacKay wants to fund a $30,000 business case that would allow for council meetings to be streamed live online.
Both of these will come up for debate later in the budget process.
Council will return to the budget Nov. 29 when it approves the master rates bylaw.
