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COVID expected to impact Town of Gibsons bottom line

Councillors in Gibsons were expected to continue budget deliberations on March 17, although under circumstances that are far from normal.
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Councillors in Gibsons were expected to continue budget deliberations on March 17, although under circumstances that are far from normal. 

The Town said Tuesday that while the scheduled meetings – two committee meetings, a public hearing and a council meeting – will go ahead, the number of people in the council chamber will be limited to 10: three councilors (the other two plan to attend by phone), four staff members and just three members of the public. 

Town staff said audio will be broadcast into the lobby area of Town Hall, but the seating will be well spaced to promote social distancing. 

As well as affecting the way council meetings are run, the COVID pandemic is also expected to impact the Town’s bottom line. 

In a written report for one of the March 17 committee of the whole meetings, director of finance Lorraine Coughlin said, “The significance of recent global events and potential impact of the COVID-19 virus have prompted a review of the original projections for certain areas of the general operations budget.” 

Coughlin is now building a $7,500 increase in cleaning-related costs into the budget as well as a “reduced travel costs resulting from the cancellation of larger events.” 

On the revenue side, the Town’s 2020 draft budget is now factoring in a possible $75,000 decrease in projected building permit revenue and a $10,000 decrease in projected investment income as a result of COVID-19. 

The original draft of the operating budget, which included a base two per cent tax increase, had a projected surplus of $238,059. 

Some new spending had already been added during earlier budget meetings, including $40,886 for costs related to adding 1.12 “full time equivalents” to the Town staff, reducing the projected surplus to $183,943. 

The latest adjustments factoring in the possible impacts of COVID-19 leave the projected surplus sitting at $101,443 if council decides not to add any extra spending.