The Town of Taber’s financial picture has now been framed for another year.
Monday night, the 2012 operating and capital budgets were approved by council, after many meetings and hours upon hours of discussions.
As with the last few years, more big-ticket items are on the capital side, as past work with the stormwater system and the wastewater treatment plant is being followed up by a proposed $3.1 million for water treatment plant upgrades.
Another $2.1 million could be needed to repair a berm west of Taber on town-owned land, another huge chunk of change. Operating expenses are rising too, as we are set to spend $19.97 million next year, up from $19.058 million last year.
In the end, although the budget did pass unanimously, a few councillors spoke about the realities Taber was facing.
Coun. Randy Sparks ended the discussions, as he spoke about the necessary tax increase of 2.5 per cent.
He was one councillor who opposed tax increases at the outset of discussions. But as the financial picture became more clear, he added the 2.5-per-cent hike was unavoidable, as there are simply too many projects which need attention.
Coun. Murray Rochelle, on the other hand, stated Taber simply can not continue down its current path for much longer.
While a tax increase of 2.5 per cent may have been needed, and may not seem very significant, it will negatively impact some in town.
Seniors and those with lower incomes will feel the pinch he added, while on the other side of the fence, public-sector salaries need to be addressed.
He spoke about the $400,000 increase to Taber police salaries over the last five years, and the jump of over $1 million in salaries for all other town employees combined over that time.
Rochelle called those increases unsustainable, and added alternatives have to be found.
Certainly, with many rounds of negotiations set for 2012, including talks with the police, the cost Taber taxpayers bear for salaries, benefits and wages will take centre stage.
Rochelle also stressed the need to follow through with a thorough review of municipal programs in 2012, and added efficiences need to be found to lessen the strain of tax increases, hikes in utility rates and user-fee jumps in the future.
As many other communities, and countries for that matter have discovered, austerity measures are the order of the day, and Taber must follow suit. Unless oil and natural gas hit record highs again, and the province is flush with cash to dole out to municipalities, towns like Taber need to find savings where they can.
As Rochelle stated, going down the same road will not get that done. Serious steps need to be taken to control spending, and time is of great importance.
Aging infrastructure will not wait forever, tax and utility-rate increases can not always be the answer, and town finances will not improve without some very serious alterations.