The RM of Stanley presented a budget of over $ 7 million to ratepayers at its regular council meeting last Thursday. Total operational spending increased by 10.84 % from last year's financial plan.
Deputy Reeve and Chair of the Finance Committee, Peter Froese says inflationary costs over the last year have made it a challenge to keep the budget in line.
"The fuel costs, the salaries have increased, Protective Services, and also our contribution to recreation in the area to Winkler and Morden now, that's a steady incline at this point. We're also working on gravel (roads) in the area, as well. Bringing gravel to the roads, there again, there's a fuel charge there, as well."
Despite that, Froese feels council has done a good job of providing all the services and programs residents want, without much of an impact.
"We're working on a lot of big projects like wastewater, our Corridor Reservoir. We're also talking corridor sewer piping to the new treatment plant that's being proposed. And there's also things like a possible corridor pathway between Winkler and Morden."
Meanwhile, overall assessment in the municipality rose nearly 15% through this year's reassessment process, reducing the mill rate to 8.319. Froese notes assessment of farmland in the RM went up the most, meaning the impact for farmers will be the biggest.
With 72% of the RM's revenue coming through the tax levy, Stanley generates the remaining 2% of its revenue or $2.59 million through multiple sources. Those sources include sales of service, grants, fees, permits, and investment income.
Froese noted the 2023 financial plan also recognizes current needs and future ones. "We've done a projection moving forward, not for this year only, but we've done a 10-year projection to see where we're going to be in the future as well, and if we're going to be keeping up. One other thing that we're going to have to, maybe, pay attention to is our asset management in the future, as to be able to address replacements in the future as well."
A delegation attended Thursday's Public Hearing on the 2023 Financial Plan, requesting the R.M. stop funding the South Central Regional Library, due to material accessible at SCRL branches, which the group deems as child pornography.
"I guess their official question, as we see it, they're asking us to defund the library," said Froese. "We as Council, at this point, we're relying on the library board to deal with this issue. It's really out of our hands. We have representation on there, and we're hoping the library board will address this issue in some form."