North Saanich council has unanimously approved a list of minor alterations to last year’s financial plan aimed at accommodating and reporting publicly projects which were approved but not included in the 2022 budget bylaw - including projects which went over budget.
The staff report was presented to and approved by council at its March 6 regular meeting, with staff clarifying the report is standard practice each spring.
While the report contained line items with amounts as high as $604,000 in newly reported spending, staff noted all additional spending is able to be funded from existing unused funds in last year’s budget, hence no formal budget amendment is required.
Three projects were included in the report which were approved by council last year but were not included in the 2022 budget as they were approved after the budget.
An additional $10,000 was approved for the fourth phase of the district’s Tree Protection Bylaw Review and will be funded by budget savings from the Community Amenity Contribution Policy and unused fire prevention funds, an increased budget to purchase of a new fire truck costing between $250,000 and $300,000 was approved and will be funded through the sale of an outdated fire truck, and around $10,000 provided to the BC Sustainable Energy Association’s Cool It! Climate Leadership Training Program was approved to be funded through the Carbon Neutral Reserve Fund.
Four projects included in the 2022 budget and ended up going over budget were also included in the report.
The McTavish Fire Hall Upgrade finished 2022 over budget by $48,900, which will be covered by the district’s roads reserve as the additional costs were related to unexpected parking lot paving challenges, the Chalet Road creek crossing repair project went $604,960 over budget as the budgeted amount was only a placeholder for the emergency repair project.
That project’s additional costs are expected to be 90 per cent covered by provincial Disaster Financial Assistance funding, with around $90,000 expected to be left for the district to cover – well under the approved placeholder budget of $250,000.
Chipsealing work around the district went $31,900 over budget and will be covered by the Roads Reserve, as will traffic safety improvement work, which went $2,850 over budget.
READ MORE: $80M North Saanich plant lab construction still on schedule
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