Moose Recreation Centre on the Southwest Hill is scheduled to be closed as part of budget cuts announced on Monday at city council's meeting.--NEWS PHOTO COLLIN GALLANT
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
Three recreation facilities that have yet to reopen after coronavirus restrictions shut their doors last spring may be the most visible cuts in a transformative city budget passed Monday night.
The Moose Rec Centre, the Crestwood Pool and the Heights outdoor pool could be closed permanently as the city seeks $14.7 million in cuts.
That amounts to about one-tenth the entire city budget, and would preserve property tax at 2019 levels next year. It would also keep on schedule the 10-year plan to stop using commodity revenue and reserve cash to balance the budget.
Headline items, and among few specifics announced on Monday, are the recreation facilities.
The final decision is “pending” based on the recommendations of a new recreation master plan that will be completed this winter, said corporate services commissioner Dennis Egert.
“They may not reopen, but we are looking at how we are providing these services.”
The Moose, Crestwood and Heights pool were left shuttered this summer and fall as the city reopened from COVID pandemic restrictions and administrators brought back facilities as demand warranted from the public.
The original 2016 Financially Fit budget called for the Heald Pool and Medicine Hat Arena to be closed to save about $900,000 in operating costs.
Now, cuts described as both “surgical” and “across the board” aim to “minimize adverse effect” on the public.
Department by department figures were not released Monday, but an overview states that police and fire services are set to undergo “optimization” reviews.
Overall, the city’s 2020 budget doesn’t appear that out of whack from what was included in the three-year-old 2019-2022 budget plan.
New supporting documents show the city will bring in $1.9 million less in revenue than projected, but spent $7.1 million less as well.
Among other specific changes, Medicine Hat will withdraw from the Palliser Economic Partnership and Canadian Badlands tourism promotion group, with the savings totalling $100,000.
The budget assumes no changes to capital construction plans, where officials feel they can find $700,000 in savings by delaying some projects.
On the expense side, the city expects to pay $1 million less than budgeted for fuel for its fleet of vehicles.
It also expects to receive $1.2 million more from the investments it holds.
In the reorganization, the city’s three main divisions will now be led by “managing directors” rather than “commissioners.”
What was once the “development and infrastructure” committee, will become utilities and infrastructure to include all utilities as well as now the power plant and petroleum production, municipal works department and the airport.
Planning and development will have a newly established office of “strategy and efficiency” that will also perform management analysis.
The new “economic development” group, Invest Medicine Hat, will house land development, a recently created real estate department, including marketing and also city facility management, and the city’s communications department.
Egert said the changes would save several hundred thousand dollars per year as “a more efficient way to run the organization.”
