WELLINGTON NORTH – The township’s budget is “favourable” overall when it comes to revenue and variances, according to a year-to-date report from finance director Farhad Hossain and included in council’s Sept. 26 meeting agenda.
As of Aug. 31, the township had received $12 million in revenue, $295,860 above the $11.71 million anticipated.
In addition, expense spending is under the $11.71 million the township thought it would have spent by the end of August. The actual number is $11.42 million, meaning expense spending is $293,915 under budget.
Brought together, the positives mean the township entered September with $589,776 more than was planned.
“The revenue surplus is driven by higher-than-budgeted grant payments received, miscellaneous items revenue, and fees and service charges,” Hossain wrote in the report.
There is less being spent on expenses because of staff vacancies, holding back on a cost-of-living adjustment, and the closure of the Lion Roy Grant pool in Mount Forest, Hossain explained.
Had gas prices and insurance and material costs been lower, he reasoned there would be even greater savings.
Despite the positive news, the report notes the surplus is expected to decrease by the end of the year thanks to inflation, a cost-of-living adjustment, and a pay equity implementation.
The increased cost of gas, insurance and utilities is also expected to continue biting into the road’s department budget specifically, offsetting gains expected elsewhere.
As of Aug. 31, the roads department was overbudget by $101,849, or five per cent, of the roughly $2 million budgeted.
