Three quarters into 2022, Town of Gibsons’s director of finance sees the review of Gibsons’s operations budget as “really positive.”
“With the big proviso that a lot happens quarter four.”
General operations is projected to have a “minor surplus” of just under $30,000, Lorraine Coughlin told mayor and council at the Nov. 15 committee of the whole. Total revenue and funding is projected to come in at $8 million – about $23,000 under budget – while total expenditures are projected to come in about $52,000 below budget at $7.9 million.
Of note in general operations:
- General revenue is projected to be $50,000 over budget because of donations and a fleet unit trade-in
- The province provided small communities with a one-time grant to support essential services, which came to an additional $131,000 for the Town.
- General administration is expected to come in $111,000 over budget according to the report, the bulk of it because of professional services hired to support staff vacancies and project management.
“Overall, the projected financial results for the general operations is positive,” said Coughlin’s written report. “This is in the context of a very challenging year from a budget perspective where staffing vacancies and increasing inflation have had significant effects.”
On the water side, selling water to the regional district has paid off. Water revenue is projected to exceed expenditures by about $4,000 in 2022, according to the report.
Expenditures are projected to come in about $60,000 over budget but revenue is set to come in $64,000 over budget at $2.705 million – in part thanks to the sale of bulk water to the Sunshine Coast Regional District during the water emergency. Water user revenue is also projected to come in over budget, said the report.
Sewer revenue is projected to come in about $87,000 below budget but expenditures are projected to be $134,000 under budget.
“All three funds [general, water and sewer] are projected to generate an annual surplus, which will be transferred to reserves for future use,” said Coughlin’s report.
Also noted at the council meeting, about three per cent of 2022 property taxes were outstanding.
