Summary of Special Town Council Meeting of December 14, 2022 (Budget)

The recording of this special Town Council meeting is available on our YouTube channel. The two official minutes of the meeting are available on our website: Adjourned and Resumed Meeting.

This meeting is devoted exclusively to the adoption of the 2023 Town Budget and the 2023-2024-2025 Three-Year Capital Program (TCP). During a special meeting, questions from citizens can only be asked on the subjects on the agenda. 

ADMINISTRATION/FINANCE

The Mayor and the Director General successively presented the 2023 budget and the Three-Year Investment Program (TIP) 2023-2024-2025.

  • 2023 Budget Adoption:
    A vote was called for the adoption of the 2023 budget: the board voted (5 in favor, 2 opposed) to adopt it. Those members who wished to do so spoke on the reasons for their vote. The budget was therefore adopted by a majority
  • Adoption of the 2023-2024-2025 Three-Year Program of Capital Expenditures (PTI):
    A vote was called for the adoption of the 2023-2024-2025 Three-Year Program of Capital Expenditures (PTI): the Board voted (5 in favor, 2 opposed) to adopt it. Members who wished to do so spoke on the reasons for their vote. The 2023-2024-2025 Three-Year Program of Capital Expenditures (PTI): was therefore adopted by a majority vote. 

Documents to consult :
2023 Budget Presentation and 2023-2024-2025 PTI
2023 Budget Summary (compared to 2022) in French only
Detailed 2023 budget (compared to 2022) in French only
Tax rates 2023

A press release, regarding the adoption of the 2023 budget and the 2023-2024-2025 PTI, was issued the day after the Town Council meeting:
Read the press release of December 15, 2022:“Municipal Budget 2023: Adoption of a realistic and responsible budget”

QUESTION PERIOD

This is a summary of the questions and answers. For the full content of the discussion during the question-and-answer sessions, please listen to the session online on YouTube. Additional [information] may be added for clarification or new information.

  • What is meant by “CCCJS Access Trail”? [page 35] ANSWER: This is to add universal access to the bocce court at the John Sleeth Community and Cultural Centre.
  • What is our average tax increase? ANSWER: The average tax increase is 13.2% (11.9% in the village area, 14.7% in the mountain area, 13.1% for unserviced properties).
  • Was the previous board’s operating budget around 10 million? ANSWER: It was $12 million. Also, consider the dollar value: the original amount must be indexed to inflation to be comparable.
  • What is the final unallocated surplus? ANSWER: It is currently $2.5 million, and we plan to use $750,000.
  • What do we do if we have a major damage, and we exceed our allocated surplus? ANSWER: Although our reserve should indeed be increased, the department does assist municipalities in times of hardship, which usually occur during a storm, for example.   
  • Wouldn’t it have been good to increase [taxes] by 1-2% to increase the reserve? ANSWER: We took into consideration people’s ability to pay. 
  • Why is there nothing budgeted for the IHR bond? ANSWER: It remains only a risk. It is not in the budget as it is not a payout this year. However, a note has been added to the financial statements.
  • Is Western Street North really going to be redone this year? ANSWER: Yes, especially since we would lose the grant if we don’t do it by December 31, 2023.
  • Has a budget been set aside for the continuation of Dream Sutton, for the entire file? ANSWER: The file has been divided: the development of the Filtex field is planned for 2023, the development of a public square in 2024 and the renovation of the museum afterwards. And an envelope of $30,000 has been set aside in the executive director’s office for project analysis.

Next council meeting: Wednesday, January 18, 2023, at 7:30 pm.

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