(Angela Brown/battlefords NOW staff)

By Angela Brown

Financial update

City 2019 financial report reflects efficiencies, challenges ahead

Aug 19, 2020 | 8:00 AM

The City of North Battleford managed to find significant efficiences and reduce costs in 2019, but it still has a long road ahead due to challenges including the economic impact of the pandemic.

City Manager Randy Patrick said the city is looking “not just for efficiency but for effectiveness” for long-term strategies. He said most costs are down considerably in the 2019 annual report as a positive start.

Mayor Ryan Bater likened the experience in 2019 to that of overcoming a mountain, and upon reaching the top noticing a series of more mountains on the other side to take on in the future.

“It was a difficult year,” he said of 2019. “There were a lot of hard decisions that had to be made; it was a transformative year. It was an effort on behalf of council and administration to change the financial direction of the city.”

As a result, the mayor said the city reduced a large chunk of its operating expenses.

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But, he said, it still has challenges ahead, including a large need for more capital support. In particular, aging infrastructure needs to be addressed.

“2019 was the year we saw significant reductions in our long- term debt,” Bater said. “But we still have a city that is highly leveraged by debt. We still have to address that over the coming years. Of course, we now have the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Other challenges ahead include potential upcoming increases for RCMP contract negotiations, as well as possible higher costs for policing if the city’s population reaches 15,000 in the next census.

As well, the mayor said the city anticipates a $300,000 minimum reduction in its municipal revenue-sharing grant from the province in 2021, since the province is collecting less PST due to the impact from COVID-19.

The city also expects the gas tax funding from the federal government will be down because more people are staying home and using less gas for their vehicles.

“So there are a lot of challenges ahead of us,” Bater said. “But I think we are much better positioned because of the action taken in 2019 than we would have been otherwise.”

Finance Director Steve Brown presented the annual report and 2019 audited financial statements at council’s meeting Monday.

He said among the challenges in 2019 the city saw about $500,000 losses in each of three areas – reduced revenue from property taxes due to assessment appeals, and from contract changes for its fire services and waste management services.

“2019 was a challenging year for finding ways to improve,” Brown said in his report.

Among the improvements, the city reduced its operations costs by more than $500,000 in 2019. It also reduced its long-term debt significantly. The city saw more federal gas tax revenue in 2019 as a plus, receiving an additional $800,000 that helped the bottom line. The city also saw an unforeseen surplus from its RCMP policing services contract last year due to vacancy issues that have since been filled.

In the report summary, Brown stated the city’s 2019 audited financial statements show an overall increase in net financial assets of $5.3 million as a positive sign. He indicated “the city’s money in the bank increased more than the money owed,” due to a combination of increased revenues such as the gas tax funding, lower debt levels and decreased expenses.

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW