At their June 5 regular meeting, District of Sechelt council approved a new financial plan development calendar that will see them tackle next year's budget this fall and finalize their financial plan in December, rather than the usual spring target.
Under the new development calendar, council aims to publicly review their first draft of the coming year's financial plan in October, then seek stakeholder engagement and review a second draft in November.
The change will mean non-profits will have to apply for grants-in-aid earlier than usual but staff said they would advertise the new timelines.
"I like the fact that we're looking at this ahead of time and that there's actually a component here where we go out to the public and lay it out to them and get their input, because it makes it more transparent," said Coun. Darnelda Siegers. "It also gives the public an awareness of what things actually cost."
Spending
Chief financial officer Victor Mema showed council what things have cost the District to date in his first-quarter operating and capital budget performance report.
He said things are "projected to come in on budget" on the operating side and noted the majority of capital budget items are still in the "planning or procurement stages."
"The District of Sechelt's 2013 capital work plan of $14.2 million consists of $3.8 million in projects underway from prior budget approvals and $10.4 million approved for 2013," Mema reported. "In total only 27 per cent of the capital budget has been spent to date."
That percentage is an average that's brought down by many projects that have yet to see a penny spent on them. Mema's capital expenditure report for the first three months of 2013 shows a total of nine projects have already run over budget.
Those projects include sidewalk improvements on Field Road, Oracle and Mermaid, a marina study, and moving parks and public works staff from the Ebbtide Street site to Dusty Road.
Release of info
Council released the contract recently signed between the District and Karen Peterson, who is acting as a business development coordinator for Sechelt's new business development committee dubbed Sechelt Innovations Ltd. (SIL).
The contract shows Peterson has been hired for two months at a rate of $30 an hour to create and organize SIL.
She is also tasked with identifying initial targets for industries and businesses that would move to Sechelt, developing contract strategies for potential companies, preparing and distributing marketing materials about specific Sechelt opportunities, promoting Sechelt as a welcoming community for business development and raising the profile of the business potential in Sechelt.
Peterson's contract started in April and ends on June 28. On June 4 she held an invitation-only launch of SIL, which media were not permitted to attend.
