SYDNEY, N.S. — Cape Breton Regional Municipality council has approved its belated 2020-21 operating budget, but it had to go to its rainy day fund to balance the financial document that guides municipal spending.
During a teleconferenced council meeting on Tuesday afternoon, chief financial officer Jennifer Campbell presented details of the revised $154-million budget that had been put on hold in early April after municipal finance projections were derailed due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Campbell acknowledged that preparing the budget during the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus lockdown was a challenging endeavour.
“Planning a budget that factors in many potential scenarios under the ever-evolving pandemic restrictions has not been easy, but I think we have a budget that strikes a balance somewhere between planning for the worst and cautious optimism,” she said.
“And this ensures that our citizens will continue to receive the quality of services they deserve and expect from the CBRM in a fiscally-responsible way.”
Campbell presented a balanced budget but had to dip into the municipality’s operating reserve to meet the shortfall of the CBRM’s estimated expenditures. The total amount to be transferred from the fund is $2,974,797. That figure includes $360,000 for the upcoming 2020 municipal election and $78,000 for a municipal planning strategy review.
On the revenue side, the majority of the money is expected to come from the $112-million billed for commercial and residential taxes.
The largest expenditure is, as usual, for public works with a budget of $49.7 million. The police service is next at $25.7 million, followed by conditional transfers to the province of $20 million, the fire and emergency services budget of $18 million and the $13.3 million required for debt-servicing.
Council passed the budget with a unanimous vote.
Meanwhile, councillors including Darren Bruckschwaiger continued to call on higher levels of government to help the already cash-strapped municipality out with some financial assistance.
“We just can’t be expected to do this alone and I believe municipalities are deserving of assistance from above us – after all, it’s only going to be added to the total that taxpayers are going to be responsible for at the end of this (pandemic),” he said.
“It’s very much needed and I don’t think we should be expected to bear this alone.”
George MacDonald, who along with Sydney Mines councillor Clarence Prince is a CBRM representative on the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities, expressed his frustration with the lack of expediency on the part of the province in moving forward to accelerate the process of obtaining emergency financial assistance from higher levels of government.
“We haven’t seen any money yet and it feels like we’re spinning our wheels,” said MacDonald.
“But we’re still hoping that money will come from the feds and the province.”
CBRM revised 2020-2021 operating budget
- Expenditures: $154,216,771
- Revenues: $151,679,974
- Shortfall: $2,536,797 (transfer from Operating Reserve fund)
Top expenditures
- $49.7 million – engineering and public works
- $25.7 million – police services
- $20 million – conditional transfers to province (for education, health and corrections)
- $18 million - fire and emergency services
- $13.3 million – debt servicing