Brandon City Council had their first overview of the proposed 2024 capital plan on Monday with presentations from City of Brandon Administration.
A media release says “Monday’s pre-budget session was an overview of major infrastructure projects required to deliver critical services and maintain Brandon’s quality of life. In 2024, the capital plan allocates $125.1 million, which includes significant investments in infrastructure, land drainage, water and wastewater treatment and networks.
City Administration’s needs-based budget is focused on what the City needs to provide: effective and efficient service in 2024, with an eye on sustainability over the next ten years. Legislation also requires the City to have a budget with a six-year look-ahead.
City administration prioritized the capital plan into three categories: essential, primary, and secondary amenities, as well as secondary projects that would be pushed out 10 years or longer. Essential projects are required to maintain safe and reliable service delivery to residents of Brandon.
Administration has also reprioritized some primary projects to be deferred by one year, extended the Transit bus replacement schedule, and delayed some transportation and infrastructure projects. These actions will help with this years’ municipal tax impact.
However, Council will also need to consider any risks associated with delays – including higher maintenance costs, potential loss of equipment use, and inflationary pressures pushing up replacement costs over time.
An overview of the 2024 Capital Plan Funding Sources and the 2024 Capital Plan Overview is available on City of Brandon – Proposed 2024 Budget
City Council is being diligent by having several pre-budget sessions and asking Administration tough questions. City Administration has been working on the budget for four months – now, it’s being turned over to City Council for their changes, and finally to vote on it in early February.
The next pre-budget session will be held on Thursday, January 18, 2024 at 6 p.m. with a focus on Operations capital budgets including fleet, other capital buildings, and the landfill.
Brandon City Council will deliberate the 2024 proposed budget as prepared by City administration on Friday, February 2, 2024, and Saturday, February 3, 2024. All proposed budget documents can be viewed on the City of Brandon website at City of Brandon – Proposed 2024 Budget
City Council welcomes comments or feedback on the proposed 2024 budget, which can be sent via email to budget@brandon.ca.”
———-
The 2024 proposed budget will require an additional $5.3 million in municipal taxes levied. That would require an 11.2 per cent increase in revenue, which for an average tax bill could be a 10% increase in the municipal portion of their tax bill from last year. The proposed combined general and utility budgets are $137.8 million. The proposed capital plan is $125.1 million, which includes $35.9 million in Federal and Provincial grant funding.
Major projects from the proposed capital budget includes:
- $24.7 million for the water treatment facility expansion
- $13.3 million for land drainage improvements, including the Southeast Drainage Project
- $21.3 million for new wastewater sewers, including the Southwest Wastewater Servicing Project
- $10.0 million for the multi-year construction of the Outdoor Sports Field Complex. Some of this spending may be done in future years.
In addition to already approved and underway multi-year projects, some of the projects being proposed in 2024 include:
- $4.4 million for design and construction of area and ice plant upgrades at the Brandon Community Sportsplex
- $3.6 million for renewal of Brandon Transit and Brandon Access Transit fleet
- $525,000 for the detailed design of intersection improvements at 18th St N & Braecrest Dr
- $800,000 for the completion of a new landfill cell
A $6.7-million increase to salary expenses reflects the creation of new positions at the City of Brandon, some of which will be recovered by grants from other levels of government, including 15 paramedic positions fully funded by Shared Health; as well as 14 police positions including two additional community cadets funded in part with the provincial urban policing grant. This increase also includes the city’s focus on filling critical positions that were vacant for portions of 2023.
Other notable items in the proposed operating budget include increased funding for infrastructure renewal, downtown initiatives, enhanced industry attraction efforts, the completion of Brandon Transit’s long-term strategy and route planning study, and the implementation of the community safety & wellbeing plan.
The City of Brandon has attracted a record amount of provincial funding to support Brandon and mitigate the costs for local ratepayers. That includes:
- $1.9 million from Shared Health which funds ten paramedics for a third ambulance and five paramedics to work in the new police cells, which will mitigate the burden on the hospital emergency room
- $319,000 for an expanded police Community Cadet program to enhance policing, especially downtown
- More on-the-ground policing and bylaw enforcement
- Enhanced environmental initiatives and commitment to affordable housing
“Our budget includes transfer payments from the provincial and federal government”, says City Manager Ron Bowles. “We are continuing to lobby our provincial government for additional funding so that Brandon and other municipalities across our province have their fair share.”
All proposed budget documents can be viewed on the City of Brandon website at City of Brandon – Proposed 2024 Budget
City Council welcomes comments or feedback on the proposed 2024 budget, which can be sent via email to budget@brandon.ca.
