Magrath approves interim 2021 budget

By Nikki Jamieson
Westwind Weekly News

Magrath town council has passed it’s interim budget for 2021.

The interim budget, passed during council’s regular Dec. 8 meeting, was approved with the same budget allocations as 2020 to allow the town to continue with their regular operations until they can finalize their budget in the spring, when they receive their mill rate from the province.

“Some areas of provincial funding remain uncertain until the province passes its budget, so the Town passes its full budget with capital projects later in the spring once the provincial funding becomes known,” said James Suffredine, CAO for Magrath. “A big concern for the Town and the 2021 budget beyond revenue uncertainties is managing a newly downloaded cost for the Province’s rural policing initiative. For Magrath, this cost is expected to be $42,868 in 2021 and the annual cost will continue to rise incrementally year over year to an estimated $128,695 annually in just four years. Many small municipalities are grappling with the same required addition to their budget.”