Rookie councillors applaud new budget process

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This article was published 14/02/2024 (680 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brandon’s four first-term councillors are giving thumbs-up to the new process used during this year’s budget deliberations.

Unlike previous years, city administration presented councillors with a four-year budget, which meant that the knock-on financial effects of decisions made during deliberations were more readily apparent.

For example, if a program was moved back from 2024 to 2025, the spreadsheet maintained by staff would show a decrease in needed tax revenue in the first year and an increase in the next.

On top of that, councillors were encouraged to submit their amendments to the budget in advance if possible so that administration could come into the final day of deliberations with an idea of their financial impacts, though new amendments and motions were still brought forward that day as well.

While seven of the 11 members of Brandon City Council were used to budget proceedings the way they were done previously, it was a less dramatic shift for the four members who were elected for the first time in 2022 since it was only their second budget.

Coun. Greg Hildebrand (Ward 5) said Monday the four-year budget and the advance notice of motions helped him make more informed decisions.

“Knowing how other people are thinking, knowing that the process is in place to see those decisions, knowing how my questions affect the future, how my proposals affect the future absolutely makes (for) an informed choice that way,” Hildebrand said.

Over on the North Hill, Coun. Heather Karrouze (Ward 1) expressed a similar opinion by email.

“I found it helpful to have department heads speak to us about the essential projects that need to be funded and, I believe, that every member of council took their responsibility to make the best decisions for the community very seriously,” Karrouze wrote.

In what used to be known as Richmond Ward, Coun. Jason Splett (Ward 8) said he thought this year’s budget process was around “85 per cent” of the way to being a fully implemented improvement and there were only a couple of tweaks he would suggest heading into 2025.

He said having more information ahead of time and holding pre-budget meetings on different topics helped him better prepare for formal deliberations.

“I noticed every time we approved a motion and it brought taxes down in 2024, it increased taxes in 2025 to offset that,” Splett said. “It made you think about your choices not just for this year, but for the next four years out and what the consequences could be.”

In future years, Splett said he’d like to see administration’s housekeeping and other amendments presented earlier like councillor’s motions so that he and his colleagues have time to assess their impacts as well. If possible, Splett said he’d also like councillors to receive budget information even earlier so they have more time to digest it.

Coun. Tyson Tame (Ward 10) concurred with his colleagues’ assessment, saying that being able to view the implications of decisions on future years was “very valuable.”

Apart from a format change, a big factor in this year’s budget was the impact of an MNP study suggesting the city needs larger than normal tax increases over the next 10 years to be financially sustainable.

The report recommended increases of around 13 per cent from 2024 through 2027. Council ultimately approved a budget lower than that amount, but the 9.4 per cent tax increase called for is much higher than any over the past decade, when Brandon had an average tax hike of 0.8 per cent.

Tame said administration having that report ahead of time was important, because it allowed staff to work ahead of time to figure out what projects should be delayed or cancelled rather than having council decide that during deliberations.

“On budget day, there was a lot less to go through,” he said.

As deliberations wrapped up on Feb. 3, some veteran councillors suggested that council hadn’t done enough to soften the financial blow to property owners.

“I don’t think there was a lot of unnecessary items in the budget,” Hildebrand said. “There were a couple of motions right at the end that would have reduced the 9.4 (per cent) to eight or just below eight and I supported those … but ultimately what would be happening is we would just be pushing that increase down the road, and it’s not something I felt strongly enough about to vote against the budget.”

Hildebrand added that he thinks the longer-term budget outlook will help the city be more accountable about the budget choices it makes. He also said he didn’t have any issues with how this year’s process went.

Karrouze’s comments echoed Hildebrand’s and referenced the effects of inflation on the budget.

“Of course, not one of us wants to see higher taxation, but as residents, we are aware that such issues as inflation affect the city, just as we are personally affected when we make purchases,” her email said. “Keeping tax increases very low has been a priority over the last number of years; however, I feel that we made good progress as a council toward prudence and sustainability with this budget.”

Splett said he thought council struck the right balance in addressing Brandon’s fiscal situation.

“It’s going to take a while to turn it around,” he said. “Anybody who watched the budget saw that they’re looking at double-digit increase the next four years out. A lot of work can go on in that time to try to lessen some of that blow. But the city definitely is needing the tax revenue to keep sustainable and to not cut services even further.”

Tame said that while no councillor was thrilled with the increase figure, the city didn’t have a lot of wiggle room. Even if all possible tax offsetting motions were passed, Tame said he figured the tax increase would have only dropped by around one per cent.

“There were items that could’ve whittled it down a little bit,” Tame said.

“I guess I was in a different position and that is reserve-building rather than reserve-depleting. A little bit of money in the bank is just prudent financial budgeting to me … We’ve been guilty of kicking the can a little bit in many different areas, and depleting reserves versus building them is one of them.

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