City council is looking at adding seven new items to its budget for 2014.
Councillors submitted the service level change requests to city staff to be considered by council in January during budget deliberations. The requests would increase the city’s base operating budgets and are a mix of on-going and one-time funding.
Myriah Foort, financial accounting supervisor for the city, said the service level requests submitted by council are not guaranteed to become a part of the 2014 budget but are items of importance to council.
“(They) will be sent to management for additional analysis and detailed costing and then be deliberated along with management’s service level change requests at the January 27 and 28 budget deliberations,” said Foort in a report to council.
The new items council has submitted for consideration are:
- $5,000 each year to the Ishikari Twinning Society to properly fund a 40th anniversary celebration of the sister city relationship which is 10 years away.
- Biweekly yard waste pick up from March 1-November 30. Funding from MMBC could be used.
- $25,000 a year for sidewalk and parking lot maintenance
- $50,000 a year for a program that maintains and cleans the city’s open ditches
- Install a boardwalk from the Quadra ferry terminal to Roberts Reach to provide a key link between Robert Ostler Park to Discovery Harbour and the Tyee Plaza area.
- $440,000 for Petersen and Willis road upgrades which include pedestrian and bikeway infrastructure improvements.
- Adding an additional bylaw officer position.