The 2023 budget for The Blue Mountains will finish in the black.
On Jan. 8, The Blue Mountains council held a committee of the whole meeting to begin the process to set the budget for 2024. At the meeting, staff reported that the 2023 budget will end with a significant surplus.
The final number won’t be known for several months as the town must complete its year-end audit process, but staff predicted that the surplus would be between $1.2 - 1.7 million.
Sam Dinsmore, the town’s acting treasurer and director finance, said staff wanted council to be aware of the surplus number as the budget process unfolds.
“We haven’t seen a surplus or deficit of that size in quite a while,” said Dinsmore.
Council will receive a full report about the final surplus number in April or May with recommendations from staff about how to use the funds.
Council will have a number of options for how to use the surplus money including: usage as revenue in the 2024 budget to reduce the proposed tax increase, putting the money in reserve for future projects, using the money for capital projects and paying off long-term debt.
There were two primary driving factors behind the surplus: increased revenues and vacant staff positions.
In his report, Dinsmore said revenues from interest on the town’s investments were up significantly and the town also experienced a large increase in revenues from the town-owned Tomahawk golf course.
The town also realized significant savings on the salaries and benefits budget. Currently, the town’s director of legal services position is vacant, while the town’s director of finance and IT services job is being filled by a current employee on an acting basis.
