By Craig Westcott
It’s the last budget of their term, and the consensus of all members of CBS council is it’s a good one to go out on.
One by one, each councillor praised the spending blueprint as they signed off on their last public council meeting of the year on December 17.
“This is our fourth budget, the last one of our term,” said Deputy Mayor Andrea Gosse, who as chairperson of finance was the lead member in crafting the $44.3 million operating plan with Director of Finance Liz Davis and staff. “When I look back from the first budget to this one, this one was a happier budget, it was more stable, we have more opportunity to do things. In 2022, it was new, we were in the midst of a pandemic. In the 2023 budget we found ourselves having to do small increases in mil rates... what we needed to meet the demands that we were faced with. And it was the same then in 2024, we found ourselves in the same position. And that’s really a tough decision to make. Thankfully this budget, with increased revenue, the growth that we’ve had, we didn’t have to do that, and it feels really good that we didn’t have to increase any rates and fees. I guess it’s a sign, as we see expenses and things levelling off, of more stable times, which provides optimism and opportunities, and that’s what we see for 2025.”
For Ward 3 councillor Gerard Tilley, this was his 16th budget, and he was happy the Town was able to hold the line on taxes.
“With some of the things we are proposing for 2025, it is a very well-rounded budget, and I think residents will be happy,” he said.
Tilley was pleased that money has been earmarked to further prepare the Gateway atop Legion Road for more commercial development.
Councillor Rex Hillier said there are many good things in this budget, and focused on several in particular, including support for affordable housing.
“There are no permit fees for housing (built) under federal and provincial programs,” he pointed out, “and 50 per cent (off) building permit fees for multi-unit buildings. We know that we’ve got multi-unit buildings in the hopper right now ready to go. We’re looking at, as the budget said, some 50 units of affordable housing over the coming months.”
Hillier also praised the new partnership with the Manuels River Centre, which the Town is acquiring.
“It’s near and dear to my heart,” Hillier said of the river. “I go back to the origins of the Manuels River Natural Heritage Society and it’s great to see that this group is continuing on, and the Town is taking it upon itself to renew that partnership.”
Hillier noted 2025 will see the most ever collected in business tax, not because rates have gone up, but because the business base has grown. “That’s a big deal for us,” he said. “We’ve had something like 40 new businesses come into town this year, and that’s something that we’ve always pushed for, and we know traditionally it’s been a weakness in our budget, in our finances.”
Hillier also saluted the money to upgrade the Town’s aging infrastructure, including the chil-dren’s playground at Topsail Beach and the tennis courts in Long Pond, which were built for the 1996 Newfoundland and Labrador Summer Games.
Councillor-at-large Christine Butler said this, her 8th budget, is the best yet.
“It’s a pleasure to be able to give such a positive budget to our residents, and a lot of that is due to the hard work of all the staff, the management, the (members of) CUPE 3034, everyone involved in doing the work for the Town, for our residents,” she said. “And of course it’s always good to be able to offer our residents the continuation of property tax reduction initiatives, because they all look for it, and I’m pleased that we’re able to continue that. And also to finish our T’Railway – I mean who doesn’t love our T’Railway?”
Councillor-at-Large Paul Connors said it’s always a challenge to maintain existing services while trying to add new things. “I think in this budget we’ve achieved that,” he said. “I’m really pleased that we now are taking over the Manuels River Interpretation Centre. It’s going to be a great addition to our town infrastructure. I think it was always part of our town infrastructure, but the Town wasn’t actually running it. Now the Town will take that over and it will create another great space for groups within our town.”
Connors expressed optimism too over the efforts to promote the Gateway. “We’re hearing some real positive things,” he said. “So hopefully in 2025 that will bring some really good news.
Connors also praised the funds earmarked to find a solution to the strong smell emanating from the Cronin’s Head Treatment Plant, as well as a coming review of the ATV pilot project.
“I will be advocating for adding additional routes so more people can access our trailways for the responsible ATV users,” he said.
Ward 1 councillor Shelley Moores, who is in her first term, liked that there are no tax or fee increases. “I think it’s a very important thing with the times we are living in right now,” she said.
Moores also liked the funding for recreational facilities. “I think we’re a step above everybody else,” Moores said. “Everyone will want to live here because of the community wellness centre that we want to get open, the fact that we have 18 kms of T’Railway, the upgrades we are doing to the Topsail Beach Rotary Park, how we’re helping out the rugby facility and baseball. I just feel that all these things really encourage a healthy lifestyle and the fact that we now will have Manuels River under our belts, the Interpretation Centre, and the opportunities that are there to have recreational and cultural things offered at that facility, is very positive for everyone.”
Ward 4 councillor Melissa Hardy, who chairs the engineering committee, highlighted the money set aside for capital works, including $5 million for street and sidewalk work, $2.4 million to replace Seal Cove bridge, and $3.8 million for water and sewer upgrades.
“It’s going to be an ambitious year for us,” Hardy said.
Councillor-at-Large Joshua Barrett said this budget is the result of initiatives council has been building towards for some time, such as the upgrades planned for Topsail Beach park.
“We’re in an excellent financial position,” he added. “For any future projects we’re well versed to do any borrowing that we might need.”
Barrett heralded the decision to spay and neuter animals at the Town pound before handing them over for adoption.
“Spay and neutering was something we removed (as a service) in 2017 and I’m very proud that we as a Town will be offering this service again next year,” he said. “So, if you adopt a cat or a dog in 2025, for a small additional cost we’ll ensure that that’s spayed and neutered.”
Mayor Darrin Bent summed up the budget reaction by agreeing with Gosse on the position council found itself in after getting elected in 2021.
“We were really the pandemic council,” Bent said. “We came in not in the full force of the Covid pandemic, we came in with the full force of the effects of the pandemic, financially. We came into record inflation times. It was hard to get equipment. We came into a time when the cost of everything was incredible, making some of it inaccessible to the Town. It delayed some of the things that we wanted to do. But we held strong, and we didn’t dig too far into the pockets of our residents. I know some of our neighbours did, they dug deeper than we did, but we kept it to a minimum and we held strong through the last couple of years. We kept our fiscal management at a good level, we were very prudent and here we are on the other side of it. And this is the first budget, post-pandemic. It’s not that the price of things have gone down, it’s just that they don’t seem to be going up as much, or maybe at all in some cases anymore and things are becoming more accessible to us, fleet replacement and so forth... It’s a great place to be, knowing that we’ve been able to deliver a budget that has far reaching effects for our residents.”
Bent said the record amount of business tax collected this past year due to business growth, some $3.3 million, points to good things to come. “That’s not going down, folks, that’s going up,” the mayor said. “It’s trending in the right direction... As the population grows, the business (base) will grow, and that commercial tax base will grow and councils into the future will be able to do a lot more than we’ve been able to do in the past. But this year, I think, is the start of it; 2025 is a great year to get things going.”
