EXSHAW – A largely status quo budget was adopted by the Bow Valley Waste Management Commission for the coming year.
The commission approved the budget at its final board meeting for the past council term, with an influx of new directors to fill the gap of former directors who were not re-elected or chose not to run.
Commission chair Paul Ryan and vice-chair Vi Sandford were not get re-elected in the Oct. 18 municipal election. Dene Cooper and Peter Poole did not run in the past municipal election, while only Ted Christensen and Karen Marra are eligible to return, leaving it with significant turnover.
“We did know there was going to be major changes on our board of directors, and getting a budget passed before the end of the year with brand new directors and brand new councils may have been quite difficult,” said Ryan, the now former chair.
The board has been one of the more veteran ones in the Bow Valley with Ryan, Sandford and Cooper each serving for two or more terms. The familiarity has helped the board and waste management staff be more familiar with topics, in what is typically a complex and technical topic.
While some may have wanted an incoming board to pass the budget, the next meeting wouldn’t be until November and the loss of all but two members will see a largely rookie commission takeover.
More than half of the commission members will need to be replaced by the three-member municipalities, meaning a lengthy learning curve to get new commission members up to pace will take time.
Marra will return for a second term on the commission and be joined by newly elected councillor Jeff Mah from Canmore.
Banff council will hold its organization meeting to determine board and committee appointments on Nov. 1.
“The board is very attuned to a working board and throughout the year they understand how the operations work and understand what needs to be done,” Ryan said at the meeting. “Some people in some places may see cell development and ask why they’re doing that, and this board is kept up to date on a monthly basis to operations.”
The 2022 budget is projecting an income of about $3.1 million – about two-thirds of it coming from tipping fees – which was similar to the forecast for 2021. However, staff are estimating an income of about $3.65 million by the end of the year.
The majority of the income – more than half – came from rock waste in 2021, while dry food waste, kiln-dried lumber, scrub brush, asphalt and concrete are other top revenue generators.
The tipping fee revenues for 2022 are being budgeted a bit below the 2021 numbers due to the possibility of the local construction economy being slower than the last year, said CAO Andrew Calder said.
The total expenses for 2022 are budgeted at $3.9 million, though the transfer of $960,000 from capital reserves would leave a slight projected positive net income. In 2021, the budget estimated expenses of about $3.9 million, but they are projected to be $3.3 million by the end of the year leaving a net income of about $80,000.
The total capital expenses are budgeted at $280,000 to help replace aging equipment and funding for recycling infrastructure, while engineering work is budgeted at $300,000 to help provide engineering support for several ongoing projects such as the closure plan for the current lime cell.
Sub-contractor work will have $500,000 set aside and $20,000 was included for cost of living raises for staff, which used the CPI inflation index to calculate.
Calder noted third-party sub-constrictor and engineering work would assist with the closure of the lime cell with the run-on and run-off and the development of the new lime cell in the north of the landfill. Alberta Environment requires detailed environmental work to be completed.
According to updated financials presented to the commission, it has current assets of $7.7 million as of September and total assets of $17 million to go with total liabilities of $2.4 million. The commission also has healthy reserves of about $2 million and close to $9 million in equity in assets.
The report noted the landfill had been impacted by the pandemic, with tipping fee revenue for many types of materials down. However, the report added the lime waste tipping fees have helped offset the gap.
“Overall, budgeted expenses remain below revenues received, and the operation is expected to contribute several hundred thousand dollars to capital reserves this financial year,” stated the report.
