BANFF – The Town of Banff ended last year with a $410,000 surplus.
At a meeting Monday (April 8), council voted 5-1 to put $180,000 of the projected $410,000 unrestricted surplus into its budget stabilization fund and the remaining $230,000 in the general capital reserve.
Councillor Peter Poole unsuccessfully tried to return $230,000 to taxpayers by giving a one-time rebate, lowering the estimated 2019 overall tax increase from 4.93 per cent to 4.09 per cent.
“I would like to have the balance of funds of approximately $230,000 to be used to lower our tax levy this year,” he said.
But the rest of council wanted the $230,000 to go to general capital reserves, the municipality’s savings account for future infrastructure projects, once the budget stabilization fund is topped up.
“I personally believe that our general capital reserve is underfunded, and so I would like to see any additional monies go there,” said Coun. Chip Olver.
Direction in Banff’s financial plan is to transfer any unrestricted surplus into the budget stabilization reserve – a reserve fund established in the event of an unforeseen annual deficit or for council to fund one-off projects that come up in the year –until it reaches its set cap.
Once that’s done, administration recommended the remaining $230,000 be put in the general capital reserve given that reserve for 2018 is about $170,000 shy of the budgeted transfers, due mostly to lower than projected police parking and fine revenues.
If council decided to give that $230,000 back to taxpayers instead of the general capital reserve, that would lead to a 4.09 per cent overall tax increase instead of the planned 4.93 per cent.
However, Chris Hughes, the Town of Banff’s financial manager, said the estimated 2020 tax increase would then increase from 3.18 per cent to 3.99 percent.
“The percentage increase in 2020 is a result of the fact that this one time decrease in the 2019 tax levy would decrease the base level of taxation and increase the gap between the required taxation level between 2019 and 2020,” he said.
Coun. Poole had earlier tried to give some of the surplus back to the municipality’s charity ratepayers, such as churches, Mineral Springs Hospital and Royal Canadian Legion as an example.
He said he can’t justify the 50-50 cost share between all ratepayers in town and the three businesses on Sulphur Mountain – Rimrock Resort Hotel, Parks Canada’s upper hot springs and the Banff Gondola – to fund a $2 million sewer line replacement.
“I want to express concern about our last decision. We’re taking from ratepayers, including charities, to subsidize three prosperous businesses,” he said.
“If we have funds that can be directed at our discretion and they can compensate for a harm that we are unintentionally doing, then I would like to figure out a way to do that.”
Coun. Brian Standish was absent from the meeting.
