Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I spoke on behalf of the St. Albert Taxpayers Association at the budget deliberations on Monday. Not surprisingly, the capital and operating budgets were passed.
As a taxpayers group, we continue to be concerned with spending at the municipal level.
We also find it disturbing that administration is unable to tell us how many full-time equivalents (FTEs) are embedded in ‘casual or temporary’ staff. We've asked several times. We know there are more than 150 who provide the programs in community service and that public works has a pool of workers (note their reallocation of casuals to run the asphalt sprayer, in lieu of the three full time FTE's asked for). It is difficult to believe that a salary line is not kept for these workers, which by dividing by the casual rate of $13.50 per hour would at least give an estimate of FTE's.
On the bright side was Coun. Roger Lemieux's motion to reduce the increases by another $520,000 through cuts in the base budget ... which is not looked at by council. Also Coun. Len Bracko’s notice of motion (yet to be debated) to hold 2011 and 2012 budgets to an increase of 1.5 per cent was bold and courageous. This will deal with the concern we have that this "pre election" moderate budget will be followed by large increases of post-election spending.
We heard council members speak about community-building and how spending on cultural and arts initiatives are integral to that. However, as taxpayers, we remind council of the many in this community who are struggling with fixed pensions, layoffs and reduced income. It's the elite who benefit from these expenditures, not the ordinary taxpayer family and this is why we asked for that type of spending to be moderated. For example we do not need a $14-million heritage park despite the lobby of those who are part of the Arts and Heritage Foundation.
In summary, we will be watching closely the actions of council over the next few months as they refine this budget and decide what to do with 2009's forecast surplus, which we have asked be used to lower the 2010 tax increase.
Lynda Flannery, President, St. Albert Taxpayers Association
