Public hearing on city budget set for Monday

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This article was published 06/04/2024 (904 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Residents will be able to provide direct feedback to Brandon City Council on this year’s budget at a public hearing on Monday.

City staff are set to present details for Brandon’s 2024 financial plan starting at 7 p.m. before opening the floor for the public to ask questions or register objections.

After the hearing, council will vote on whether to send the financial plan to the provincial government and hold first reading on a bylaw approving the collection of property taxes for both the Brandon School Division and the City of Brandon in 2024.

Council gave initial approval to this year’s budget in early February. It includes a 9.4 per cent property tax increase.

Overall, the operational spending in this year’s financial plan is around $5 million higher than last year, going from $105.5 million in last year’s budget to $110.5 million this year. Next year’s estimated operational spending is projected to be around $115.5 million.

However, actual spending for 2023 was reported as $106.5 million.

Of the city’s $95.2 million in capital spending for this year, $49.2 million will be paid for through debt, $40.8 million will come from reserves and $5.2 million from the general operating fund.

The draft financial plan also provides more detail on the city’s five-year capital plan from 2025 through 2029.

As city manager Ron Bowles told the Sun by email last month, the cultural hub project that would either renovate the existing Library/Arts Building or build a new space for the Western Manitoba Regional Library, the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba and the Brandon General Museum & Archives is not included.

However, $800,000 in spending on the Library/Arts Building is scheduled for 2029.

The “Police Buildings” line item in the capital plan has $5.345 million in expenses listed for 2026, likely tied to the purchase of a second office building and new impound lot for the Brandon Police Service.

In 2028, $5.25 million worth of spending is listed under the diking and flood control line item.

The largest category for capital spending is for ongoing expansions to the city’s water treatment plant, with $127 million in spending lists for 2025 through 2029.

Over those five years, a total of $340,672,994 in capital spending is planned, about $96.1 million in 2025, $95 million in 2026, $66.5 million in 2027, $36 million in 2028 and $47.1 million in 2029.

Those wishing to speak at the hearing are asked to register in advance by calling the city clerk’s office at 204-729-2296 or emailing cityclerk@brandon.ca.

Written submissions can be sent to the same email address or dropped off at the city clerk’s office on the second floor of Brandon City Hall by 5 p.m. on Monday.

The meeting will be held in council chambers on city hall’s second floor and will be broadcast live on the city’s YouTube channel.

A copy of the financial plan can be found online at brandon.ca/budget/finances-budget.

» cslark@brandonsun.com

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