Budget Deliberations
Issue Papers were presented by Staff at the preliminary Budget Meeting on March 22, 2015. It is important to note that the Issues are not included in the Draft Budget Working Papers. Therefore, any Issues approved by Council will be added to the 2016 Budget expenses. It is worth noting that every $49,000 increase in expenses represents approximately 1% Tax Levy Increase.
At the April 19, 2016 Council Meeting, Councilors voted unanimously to defer further budget deliberations until May 3, 2016 to give the Treasurer additional time to complete work on the 2015 Actual (unaudited) amounts. The Mayor was not in favour, however Councilors felt strongly that it was important to have the 2015 Actuals (unaudited) in order to make informed decisions on the 2016 Budget.
A Special Meeting was held on April 6, 2016 to deal with Issue Paper #PARKS-04 - Installation of Two Permanent Panel Boxes at the Keeler Centre at a cost of $18,775.00, plus cost of installation (not included in Issue Paper). Trenching and backfilling to be done by Roads Department. Council was split on the vote to approve, with the Mayor's vote deciding in favour of the project.
2016 Pending Issue Papers
Council was not willing to discuss the Issue Papers for 2016 without the Actuals from 2015 being available. As a result, only the basic Budget was passed without Issue Papers being considered. Council agreed to discuss the 2016 Issue Papers throughout the year. Since the opportunity to discuss the Issue Papers was not available to the taxpayers when the Budget was passed, the CCA submitted written questions/comments for each Issue Paper. To read the CCA's perspective, please click on Financial Accountability & Transparency under the Cramahe Council tab.
2016 ISSUE PAPERS BEFORE COUNCIL
| Department # | Description | Amount | Reserves | Amount | Approved |
| Fire #01-2016 | North Hall Generator 20-30 KW (Installed) (CEMC Reserve) | 15,000 | (2,000) | 13,000 | |
| Fire #02-2016 | Administrative Software (Fire Pro 2) | 14,000 | 14,000 | ||
| Fire #03-2016 | Ontario Fire Code Enforcement (unforseen inspection costs) | 5,000 | 5,000 | ||
| Fire #04-2016 | Medical Equipment Partnership (replacement of defibrillators & medical bags) | 9,200 | 9,200 | ||
| Admin #16-01 |
CBO/By-Law Enforcement Assistant (PT By-law Officer position to FT) This should result in approx $40,000 savings by eliminating PT positions |
10,000 | 10,000 | ||
| Oper #16-01 | Engineering Study Ontario St, Highway 2 to Robertson St | 50,000 | 50,000 | ||
| Oper #16-02 | Engineering Study of Cramahe Township's Sewer Line | 65,000 | 65,000 | ||
| Oper #16-03 | Extension of Cramahe Township's Sewer Line | 2,500,000 | 2,500,000 | ||
| Oper #16-04 | Application for Approval of Storm Sewer on Ontario Street | 10,000 | 10,000 | ||
| Oper #16-05 | Rehabilitation of Cedar, Burnham and Park Streets | 3,152,650 | 3,152,650 | ||
| Oper #16-06 | Rehabilitation of Penryn Road | 200,000 | 200,000 | ||
| Oper #16-07 | Roads Needs Study (2011 Study expired) | 10,000 | 10,000 | ||
| Oper #16-08 | Rehabilitation of Ontario St from Robertson St east to County Rd 31 | 1,500,000 | 1,500,000 | ||
| Parks #01 | Retrofit of Arena Pad Lights (3 year return on investment - reduced Hydro costs) | 49,675 | 49,675 | ||
| Parks #02 | Increase PT and FT Staff (increase in benefits, etc. not included) | 120,378 | 120,378 | ||
| Parks #04 | Installation of Tow Permanent Panel Boxes at Keeler Centre (installation costs Not Incl) | 18,775 | 18,775 | Yes | |
| Facilities #02 |
Castleton Town Hall Window Restoration - Option #1 - All Windows in 2016 Option #2 - Half of Windows in 2016 |
28,250 14,125 |
28,250 14,125 |
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| Planning #01-2016 | CGIS Administrative Software (costs will be annually) | 25,000 | 25,000 | ||
| Planning #02-2016 | Summer Student (50% provincial funding included) | 2,500 | 2,500 | ||
| 2016 Total Issues | 7,785,428 | (2,000) | 7,783,428 | ||