By Greg Higgins

Public welcome to city’s first budget talk

Nov 30, 2016 | 1:29 PM

The first of three budget meetings will take play at North Battleford City Hall tonight with 26 per cent of the total budget to be approved.

Council members are encouraging the community to come watch the budget proceedings. City Manager, Jim Puffalt, said council will be looking over leisure services which accounts for just over 20 per cent of the total budget being presented.

“Leisure services are budgeted for $5.8 million in 2017,” Puffalt said. “That includes the CUplex, Civic and Don Ross Centres [and] all the parks and playgrounds. It will include all the programming and maintenance of facilities.”

Planning and development, which includes underground pipes and asphalt replacement (UPAR) and other construction, will also be presented tonight. According to Puffalt, it will consume six per cent of the total budget.

The meeting begins at 6 p.m. and is expected to run until 10 p.m. Puffalt said the public is more than welcome to see how council deliberates the proposed budget.

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“Council will have questions and that’s part of their job,” Puffalt said. “They have to approve the budget but at the same time do their due diligence and scrutiny of it. There is certainly no rubber stamping at this meeting. We have done our work; we got the budget to them within the deadline established.”

North Battleford is currently running a surplus. Puffalt said the money will go towards capital projects which will be determined at the upcoming budget meetings on Dec. 5 and 7.

Greg Higgins is battlefordsNOW’s city municipal affairs and health reporter. He can be reached at ghiggins@jpbg.ca or tweet him @realgreghiggins.

by Greg Higgins

Public welcome to city’s first budget talk

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