Belleville’s Director of Finance and Treasurer is heading for retirement and has some advice for the city.
Twenty-nine years to the day that Brian Cousins joined the city’s treasury department, he delivered his 22nd and last budget to city council, on Tuesday.
Cousins tells Quinte News that when he began in the 1990s the numbers would be about $35 million compared to more than the $100 million now.
That would include “boxes of pencils and wooden desks.”
He noted there would be no digital work or email.
In his interview, Cousins backed off giving advice to the city but did say the city needs the financial debt it now carries.
“I don’t have a key to the basement with a supply of money.”
He says the city needs to “put away” $23 to $46 million but only has $16 million right now.
This is for things like water and sewer upgrades and “…according to our plan we need to get there somehow, at least $23 million would be reasonable. So we put another half million in 2019, (in the operating budget) a number that hopefully will increase and increase.”
As for advice to incoming Treasurer and Director of Finance Carol Hinze, Cousins says it’s not needed, “She did the capital budget and she and her staff did most of the work for the operating budget” approved this week.
Getting ready to say goodbye to city hall in a few weeks, Cousins says he “intends to enjoy retirement and play a little more golf” than the five times a year he has been playing.
Belleville’s incoming Director of Finance and Treasurer Carol Hinze receives a token “key to the treasury” from Director of Finance and Treasurer Brian Cousins, April 2, 2019 (Photo Mary Thomas/Quinte News)
