City Seeing Green in Year End Financial Report

A warmer than normal winter also put snow clearing in a $1.2-million surplus position. Those savings will be transferred to the Municipal Revenue Stabilization Reserve (MRSR), in accordance to City Council policy.

As Wight explains, changing the city’s street lights to LEDs came with some unexpected savings, as well. “We anticipated we’d save about a million dollars, but we’ve actually done better than that from electricity savings. It looks like about $300,000 more than what we counted on in savings. We’re hoping that will continue going forward, but it’ll really depend on how significant electric rate increases are in the next few years.”

Business units can carry surpluses over into the remaining years of the budget for further operations, and deficit must also be made up in that same time. Ultimately, it’s up to city administration and unit managers to manage those funds.

Wight added that the introduction of a province-wide carbon tax, which could have an impact on Lethbridge’s fuel purchasing and landfill, and increasing minimum wages could be the most significant challenges to face in the coming year.

The entire financial report is available in the April 11 Finance Committee agenda on the City of Lethbridge website.

by Sam Borsato - @BorsatoSam on Twitter

City Seeing Green in Year End Financial Report

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