The Town of the Pas held a Special Meeting for the 2024 Budget on March 25.
Council received the final amount from the Kelsey School Division, which results in a slight increase from what was indicated in previous discussions and leads to a 0.66 mill rate increase. The total amount which the Town of The Pas is required to levy under Section 188 of The Public Schools Act for 2024, is $2,981,347. Town council has no control over school tax portion.
Some additional expenses were also added to the 2024 budget. The Tri-Com Recycling forklift final amount was $7,850 that the request was for.
Initially, there were some expenses for truth and reconciliation were added to the amount of $10,000.
As well, the clean-up costs for 220 Edwards Avenue, The Lido Theatre, is put at $50,000 in the budget, but the controller felt that is a low amount to budget for this expense. Two quotes have been received so far. Mayor Murphy said it’s just a starting point to work toward and didn’t feel it had to be done all at once. He said council should work towards that budgeted amount rather than the scope of the work that needs to be done, and go from there.