City council tightened its own belt to the tune of $32,000, during city budget deliberations on Wednesday.
Council unanimously supported motions to cut its $50,000 council contingency fund in half, and reduce the operating budget for the mayor's office by $7,000. The cuts amount to almost a 3.7 per cent reduction to mayor and council's $871,538 operating budget.
"Currently we have a council contingency budget of $50,000 to use for whatever interests council," Coun. Cameron Stolz said. "I think slashing that budget in half makes sense."
The reductions fall in line with $1.99 million in cuts made by the city to restrict tax increases to 3.12 per cent.
The city laid off nine employees, and eliminated a total of 28 positions, last month in anticipation of council approving the budget this month.
Coun. Brian Skakun proposed a further $16,000 in cuts - reducing the travel budgets for city councillors from $6,000 per year to $4,000 - but failed to get a seconder for the motion. An amended motion, proposing a 10 per cent reduction to councillor travel budgets, resulted in a tie vote and was defeated.
"We've asked people to do more with less..." Skakun said. "That shouldn't eliminate anybody from travelling."
In 2011, the average travel budget per councillor was $6,048, Mayor Shari Green said.
While a $2,000 cut might seriously deter councillors ability to attend events like the Federation of Canadian Municipalities annual general meeting, Green said, she supported a 10 per cent
reduction.
"I don't know that we all need to go to all things," Green said.
City councillors and the mayor typically attend the annual general meetings of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Union of B.C. Municipalities and North-Cental Local Government
Association. The city does not pay for councillors who serve as board members of those organizations to attend board meetings, or other travel on behalf of the organization, Coun. Murry Krause said. Krause sits on the board of the Union of B.C. Municipalities.
"I'd be concerned about how much we'd shortchange ourselves [by not attending]," Krause said. "These are not holidays. We start at dawn and go well into the evening."
Skakun, Green and councillors Lyn Hall and Albert Koehler voted in favour of cutting the travel budget. Krause and councillors Frank Everitt, Cameron Stolz and Dave Wilbur opposed the 10 per cent reduction. Councillor Garth Frizzell was absent on business for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
"As a new councillor... I think it's important that we don't give up the
enducation tool we have," Everitt said. "When you do something to save $200 or $2,000 in a budget this size, I don't think it's meaningful."
