Council in Prince Edward County dove head first into the 2019 budget today.
Mayor Steve Ferguson took a few minutes at the beginning of the meeting at Shire Hall to address his fellow council members and said at the end of the process, whether it takes one day, three days, five days or seven days, they need to walk out of council chambers satisfied with the decisions they are making on behalf of their constituents.
Chief Administrative Officer James Hepburn began the day with an overview of what the proposed budget will bring and told those seated around the horseshoe that they can ask all the questions they feel are necessary to get through this process.
He told council there are a number of budget pressures they are facing as they begin to set this year’s priorities.
The operating budget was proposed at $54.5 million and the capital budget set at $14.3 million, for an increase of 5.1 per cent over 2018.
Hepburn said the levy would be set at $898 per $100,000 assessment should council approve the budget as presented.
The County is committed to giving the Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Foundation $4.5 million for their capital campaign and $250,000 to affordable housing, as well as other community commitments. They also have made a commitment to address the EORN cell gap, the wage increases of staff and development charge discounts in the municipalities.
Hepburn said their greatest fiscal challenge is the County’s failure to address the infrastructure deficit in a meaningful way.
He did note while they may have these pressures, they are going to continue to maintain service levels.
Council was asked before they dove head first into the budget to include $95,000 to the Northport Boat Launch in Sophiasburgh in their budget discussions, as well as an operating grant contribution of up to $50,000 this year and the next three years for the Prince Edward Fitness and Aquatic Centre and a capital grant of $20,000 for 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. The County Foundation Partnership was seeking an operational grant of $40,000 annually to 2022 to be included also.
The Farming Assistance Grant Program was maintained at $40,000 and was also approved to be included in their talks over the week.
Council spent the rest of their first day looking at the breakdowns of each department, including the general government operating budget, protection services, transportation and environmental services and health, social and family services.
Council also voted to show a one per cent increase as a separate item on the tax bill and note it will be the contribution for the Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Foundation capital campaign.
Budget discussions will continue at Shire Hall on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m.
