The Operating Forecast for 2017 is showing the City is making less money but also spending less.
The report was delivered at the Governance and Priorities Committee meeting Wednesday. The purpose of the forecast is to update City Council on Lloydminster’s financial standing of December 31.
The report shows revenues will be down from $81,222,879 to $77,425,457, a 5% decrease. The top five variances for revenues came from land development (-33%); water and sewer utility (-6%); storm drainage (-35%); waste and recycling utility (-11%); and bylaw and parking (-17%).
Expenses will also be down for 2017 from $76,585,045 to $74,160,949, a 3% decrease. The top five variances for expenses came from highway and street maintenance (-5%); land development (-36%);Â RCMP (-4%); airport (-14%);Â and water and sewer utility (-2%).
When the budget was created, there was expected to be $4,637,833 more revenues than expenses. That has decreased by 30% to $3,264,508.
“The economy determines a lot of the conditions that involves city revenue, by the selling of lots and properties and things like that. We’re watching the economy very closely, administration is watching the economy very closely and ensuring that we’re taking every advantage of cost savings that we can,” says Mayor Gerald Aalbers.
“If we can stay on course, we’re going to end up on a positive side of the line,” says Aalbers.
“The city [does not budget] to an even zero, I’d rather have a positive at the end and that’s what we budgeted for and we hope to deliver that as well at the end of the year.”
The actual numbers could change by the end of the year as the report states, an “increase in cost is directly correlated to seasonal changes, service call-outs, emergency repairs, and many other factors that could occur.”
As well the report notes some employee severances due to the reorganization of the City’s internal structure have not been paid yet which will impact the bottom line.