Reversing course, Woolwich will cover its 2011 operating deficit from a contingency fund established for that purpose rather than using unspent money from the capital side that provided an overall surplus of $184,000, councillors decided Tuesday night.
Although agreed to in principle last week, the majority of council was swayed by Coun. Mark Bauman’s argument money earmarked for infrastructure spending should go only to such projects.
Drawing some $227,000 from the operating contingency reserve will all but drain the fund. The $411,000 in capital money that went unspent last year will be divided among the capital contingency reserve and the infrastructure reserve fund.
“We’re using potholes to cover an operating deficit,” said Bauman of the original plan proposed by director of finance Richard Petherick. “It needs to stay as infrastructure money.”
As well, using capital money essentially negates the extra levy imposed on taxpayers this year to finance infrastructure projects, he argued.
The decision left Petherick uneasy, however, as only $40,000 would remain in the operating contingency fund, not enough to cover any new cost overruns or emergency spending that might be needed. He pointed to the number of cases the township is dealing with at the Ontario Municipal Board and the resultant legal fees as an area of concern.
For chief administrative officer David Brenneman, this week’s decision leaves the township with little wiggle room.
“That doesn’t set us up well for future emergency situations,” he said.
Woolwich’s operating budget ran over by $226,871 in 2011, while on the capital side the township spent $411,362 less than it planned to, providing a net surplus of $184,491.
