Emergency repairs at city parks and arenas account for the bulk of the projected operating expense, based on data to the end of September
Sarnia is projecting a $2.5-million budget deficit for 2024.
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Emergency repairs at city parks and arenas account for the bulk of the projected operating expense, based on data to the end of September, a city finance report says.
Ongoing security and sanitation expenses for a homeless encampment at Rainbow Park are expected to finish at $550,000 by the end of December, it says
The measures, including security fencing, temporary washrooms and security guards, were introduced in late June.
And fewer staff vacancies at city hall also factor into the deficit projection, said Sarnia communications manager Steve Henschel.
As of this week, there were nine job vacancies with the city, but they vary throughout the year, leading to salary savings in various departments compared to what was budgeted, he said.
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Recent multi-million-dollar budget surpluses — $3.3 million in 2022, $3.7 million in 2021, and $4.6 million in 2020 — were in part the result of vacancies at city hallcorporate services general manager David Stockdale has said.
The 2020 and 2021 results also were helped by COVID-19 relief funding.
As Sarnia began to retain more staff, Stockdale has said, the city essentially balanced its budget in 2023, with a modest $56,760 surplus—representing 0.03 per cent of the year’s budget.
The projected 2024 deficit would be 1.4 per cent of the city’s $179.6-million budget.
Fewer vacancies “coupled with these emergency repairs is kind of what drove the change in direction,” Henschel said.
Clearwater and Progressive Auto Sales arenas this year both required heating unit repairs, lighting replacements, and experienced other equipment failures, while bathroom repairs at Canatara Park, and repairs to HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) systems, and other park repairs contributed to unexpected costs, the report says.
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An expected $160,000 policy budget deficit is another a factor in the projection, the report says, noting there also were significant emergency repairs required for buses, and maintenance at city sewer facilities.
“Minimal snowfall” between January and March yielded some savings to go toward water infrastructure maintenance, while weather events also caused force-main failures and prompted equipment repairs, the report says.
A $200,000 water budget surplus projection would be offset by projected transit and sewer budget shortfalls if the estimates hold.
HAS corporate asset management plan council adopted in June notes Sarnia needs to invest $79 million a year to keep its aging infrastructure up to date.
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In 2024, the expense was $60 million, including the city’s contribution to the Lambton Area Water Supply System (LAWSS), its fleet reserve, and other items.
“The corporate asset management plan that was passed this year, it highlighted the continued need for capital investment to maintain facilities and offset these types of repairs from happening in the future,” Henschel said.
The city has been “aggressively investing in capital through the council-approved budget for several years now, and we’re certainly looking to continue that,” he said.
Council budget deliberations are Nov. 26 for Sarnia’s draft $183.8-million operating budgetand $56.8-million in proposed capital spending for 2025.
Relevant sewer, water, transit, operating and police reserves sit collectively at $7.75 million, Henschel said, and would be used to fund a year-end deficit.
Maintaining a healthy reserve balance is important, as is maintaining affordability for taxpayers, he said.
“It’s always a balancing act,” he said, adding the city’s aim continues to be balanced budgets.
“Unforeseen things do happen,” he said. “So, we’ll be looking to, in the year ahead, maintain a positive variance wherever possible.”
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