Municipal Financial and Operational Review

Before considering significant new spending, I would like to conduct a municipal financial and operational review that includes answering the question “Are residents receiving appropriate value for every tax dollar?” A forensic audit may be indicated to show our starting financial position before considering significant new spending.

With the question “Are residents receiving appropriate value for every municipal tax dollar?” in mind; the following needs to be reviewed:

Consultant expenditures Engineering costs Procurement Equipment utilization Contracted versus in-house services Reserve funds Debt Insurance Grants , available, applied for and received Recreation subsidies Development fees Fleet replacement Utilities Landfill operations Staffing and overtime Mayor and Council expenses

The current Council’s 2026 plan contains substantial capital commitments but reports no borrowing associated with the approximately $10.32 million capital program, with substantial funding coming from reserves.

Council should therefore develop a 10-year financial forecast showing the consequences of today’s decisions on future taxpayers and adopt a policy requiring major proposals to show:

capital cost + annual operating costs + lifecycle replacement cost + tax impact ‍ ‍