MD Reeve Dene Cooper announced Tuesday, March 13, he is stepping down as treasurer of the Calgary Regional Airshed Zone (CRAZ).
Cooper said he was resigning his position as treasurer on March 21 given the high cost to the municipality.
“It is costing the MD a lot of money to keep that executive service available to them. We could afford to do that for two years, but we can’t do it indefinitely,” Cooper said. “We need to create the opportunity for others and it would be more efficient to have a treasurer closer to Calgary.”
In the past five or six years, Cooper said serving as CRAZ treasurer has likely cost the MD about $30,000.
“It’s time to share that responsibility,” he said. “It’s time to share those costs.”
Cooper said he plans to continue serving as a CRAZ director, however.
CRAZ, which is part of the Clean Air Strategic Alliance, was formed in 2005, received official society status in 2007 and was created to develop an air-monitoring program for the Calgary region.
Council OKs 2011 snow plowing cost overages
Bighorn councillors approved a request from the MD’s finance director to fund unbudgeted 2011 operating expenses from its reserve accounts.
Katherine Van Keimpema, director of finance for the MD, said Tuesday, March 13, the municipality experienced an overall operating deficit in 2011 of $86,030.
Along with that deficit, Van Keimpema said snow removal in 2011 cost an extra $25,986 over what was budgeted because of heavy winter snowfall. Along with that, sanding and salting was $12,857 over budget, as were gravelling costs, which were $32,850 over.
“There was significant snow plowing last year. By spring we had almost spent the snow removal budget,” Van Keimpema said.
Administration also saw $4,200 in unexpected audit fees as a result of increased audit work required as part of the Exshaw water system and $26,111 to operate the Exshaw water system itself over what revenue the new system brought in.
Van Keimpema said the goal is to move operating overages for the Exshaw water system to zero.
“A utility should be a zero proposition and not rely on taxes,” she said, adding next year the Exshaw water utility should be close to breaking even.
As a result of the operating deficit, part of the snow removal overages, the audit fee overage and the water system overage, Van Keimpema said administration had to transfer $146,344 from reserves.
Also, Van Keimpema requested council carry forward $140,923 in tax dollars budgeted for projects that were not completed in 2011 to 2012. Those projects would be completed this year, she said.
“In my opinion, if you collect tax money for a specific project or purpose, you should keep it with these projects,” she said.
Following a question by MD Reeve Dene Cooper as to whether the operating deficit was within normal budgets over the past six years, Van Keimpema said it was.
“It’s all in the roads area and a lot of it is subject to Mother Nature: sanding, salting, snow removal,” she said.
