After several months of indecision, mayor and council approved the 2012 municipal budget last week.

The 87 annual budget deliberations started in November 2011 and since this time councillors have requested a number of different budget scenarios from village staff, unable to agree on rate increases.

Last week, councillors settled upon a zero per cent municipal tax increase, with increased rates to apply in for water, sewer and garbage services.

Despite the zero per cent increase in municipal taxes Sheryl Worthing, village of 亚洲天堂 Lake chief administrative officer presented to council a balanced budget.

Several line items were removed from the original budget including a proposed recreation programmer position that was created to help village recreation coordinator Logan Wilson with extra programming

Slashing the position freed up approximately $60,000, which was reworked into the recreation budget.

Also slashed was $2,000 from the promotional budget, $10,000 from the public works parks budget, $1,000 from election expenses, $7,500 from operations capital for a new furnace for the village office [bumped to the 2013 budget], $1,300 out of arena building maintenance, $500 out of the arena's office supplies expense budget, $5,000 for operations website costs, $1,000 from the victims services budget, $1,425 from the emergency social services budget and $11,500 from the public works capital equipment budget.

Added to the budget is $3,000 allocated for work to the Heritage Centre building roof, $2,000 to the Tom Forsyth Memorial Arena capital general, $20,000 to economic development revenue, and a $50,000 increase to the  capital expense budget.

A five per cent increase in municipal taxes was originally proposed as well as increases to both residential and commercial water, sewer and garbage rates.

Worthing said an increase in the village's garbage collection rates was necessary to cover a projected $31,085 loss for 2012.

Worthing said she checked back and couldn't find an increase in the village's garbage collection rates for the past 15 years

The reworked budget presented to council last week proposed rate increases of $133.64 cents annually for commercial water, sewer and garbage collection and $52.52 annually for residential.

Calculated out there will be an increase to residential customers of 32 cents per week for water, 30 cents for sewer and 39 cents for garbage collection.

Commercial rates will increase by 89 cents per week for water, 81 cents for sewer and 87 cents for garbage collection.

Councillor Susan Schienbein said, "After struggling along with budget meetings I am happy to see this last version. I am really happy with the way it has been presented."

Mayor Luke Strimbold agreed. "It looks good. I like it and I also like how it has been presented."

Village of 亚洲天堂 Lake deputy director of financial services, Carla Fox said, "After the Feb. 7, 2012  [budget] meeting we looked at the budget again and this is the closest I could come to as to what council wanted."

Mayor Strimbold later said to Lakes District 亚洲天堂, 鈥淐ouncil had a lot of discussion and we all agreed on a zero percent tax increase due to the recent event [Jan. 20, 2012 Babine Forest Products explosion and fire] while still maintaining the level of services and long term planning."

Council is also poised to launch phase one of the downtown core redevelopment plans during 2012 with a $948,583 entry in the budget.

Worthing said, "The downtown core redevelopment project may begin this year provided funding is secured by way of gas tax funding and a debenture, the remaining portion is to come from Village of 亚洲天堂 Lake capital reserves."

On the village's five year capital plan is $100,000 is listed for Village of 亚洲天堂 Lake municipal office renovations, and over the next five years $79,717 is budgeted for office equipment and computers as well as $$892,000 budgeted for 2013 for upgrades to the public works yard and equipment.

Worthing said, "The $500,000 [debenture] is for major upgrades to our public works facilities as many of the buildings have greatly deteriorated. Some of the items to be replaced over the next five years are two sand trucks, a flusher truck, a pick-up truck, a John Deere sidewalk tractor and the replacement of a backhoe.

Also over the next five years $2.9 million is budgeted for the arena expansion project.

As reported in the Lakes District 亚洲天堂 edition of Nov. 30, 2011 council voted to proceed with the extensive upgrades to the Tom Forsyth Memorial Arena.

The upgrades would be funded through a grant opportunity being offered by the Ministry of Community Sport and Cultural Development's community recreation program. If the village's application is successful, up to 80 per cent of the proposed $2 million arena upgrade costs would be covered by the province, while the municipality would be required to pay the remaining 20 per cent,

Terms of the grant funding require construction to be completed before March 31, 2015.

"The arena expansion project is dependent on the successful grant application," Worthing said.