By Angela Brown

North Battleford 2019 budget deliberations to start soon

Nov 14, 2018 | 9:00 AM

The City of North Battleford is set to enter 2019 budget deliberations shortly.

Special meetings will take place Nov. 28, Dec. 3 and Dec. 6, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. The public is welcome to attend.

“It’s the most important thing council does every year, which is why we set aside special days for those deliberations,” said Mayor Ryan Bater following Tuesday’s meeting. “They are intense. They are comprehensive.  It’s a chance for council to evaluate where we are at financially, but also it will map the future – not just the next year, but the next several years because we often consider a multi-year capital plan as part of it.”

During deliberations, City Hall will discuss all the programs and services available to North Battleford residents as well as the city’s projects and capital works initiatives.

A draft budget may potentially be ready to be presented to council for approval as early as Dec. 10.

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Here are some other highlights from the night:

Tax incentives stay status quo: Council defeated a proposed motion to create a new business tax incentive policy for developments in the key commercial corridor outside the downtown boundary at a value that would be less than the downtown incentive policy.  Next spring, council plans to review the city’s existing tax incentives policy, as well as its disincentive policy in place.

“Like any policy, you want to evaluate its effectiveness and whether it needs to be continued or discontinued, or amended,” said Bater. “It’s about having a conversation about tax incentives for commercial entities in the city as a whole. While the motion was defeated, I think the spirit of it will be maintained.”

Some red flags raised concerned parts of the city that don’t require an incentive. Bater said when the city implemented the downtown incentive policy the aim was to complement the city’s investment in revitalizing the downtown core and replacing ageing infrastructure. 

“It’s working – we’re seeing new businesses downtown … a lot of new life downtown,” the mayor said.

Transit bus cash-fare going up: Council approved a proposal from the Battlefords Transit System to increase the public transit cash fare by $1 for users to help offset an operating deficit. Transit manager Paul Robertson pitched council on the hike. The increase is due mainly to inflationary pressures on the transit system, including increased costs for fuel, maintenance and all expenses associated operations. 

“It’s not something council takes lightly,” Bater said.      

New meeting time proposed: Council agreed to have administration amend the city’s procedure bylaw to change the time for regular council meetings, moving up the start time to 6:15 p.m., instead of the 8 p.m. beginning in January 2019, in an effort to encourage more people to come to the meetings. The bylaw will need to come to back council at an upcoming meeting for final approval. 

“The most important thing is public accessibility, and making sure that people who want to attend council meetings have the most convenient way of doing so,” said Bater.

New plan ready: The Yellow Sky Neighbourhood Master Plan for the south-east quadrant of North Battleford has been completed. The plan will help guide future development for the area and be used to make further improvements to Carlton Trail.

Incentive for Moon’s spruce up: Council approved a downtown tax incentive for Moon’s Kitchen on 100 St., which recently made improvements to its facade. In accordance with the incentive policy, the city granted a tax credit of $2,000 towards the business’s 2019 taxes. The total project was valued at $8,000.

Hair salon spot do-able: A discretionary-land-use request for a home-based business, a hair salon at 10352 Bunce Crescent, was approved.

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW