A heated discussion over whether to support Tourism Squamish's ask for $58,581 came down to councillor's differing opinions about whether a surplus is gluttonous or prudent.
Opinions were voiced loud and clear at Tuesday's (April 6) Committee of the Whole meeting. Had Squamish Tourism received the amount of money requested, they would have had a surplus of $40,000.
Both Coun. Corinne Lonsdale and Coun. Rob Kirkham were opposed to the idea.
"I can't support a surplus for Tourism Squamish when we're asking other organizations to tighten their belts," said Lonsdale.
But Tourism Squamish members said that having a surplus at the end of the year was the mark of a successful business and as a result, they would ask for less assistance the next year.
Mayor Greg Gardner said Tourism Squamish is in its transition year where it's moving away from municipal support and branching out on its own, so having a surplus is a smart decision.
Coun. Doug Race supported Gardner.
"It's their first year of independent operation so it's prudent and smart to budget for a surplus," said Race.
Kirkham said even though it's their first official independent year, they've been involved with Tourism Squamish for a number of years.
"I don't really see this as a shot in the dark budget," said Kirkham.
Coun. Paul Lalli moved to increase at Tourism Squamish budget by $11,426, less than they asked for but enough to give them a bit of a surplus to work with. Coun. Patricia Heintzman seconded the motion and it was carried with Lonsdale and Kirkham opposed.
Lonsdale first jokingly suggested taking the money from Lalli's paycheck, before making a motion to take the amount from the economic development fund, where they had just allocated $30,000 of the district's 2009 $400,000 surplus. That motion was carried unanimously.
Council agreed the surplus would go to debt, municipal legal fees, the contingency fund, the economic development fund and tax breaks for light and heavy industrial properties.
The remaining $230,000 left in the budget surplus after last week's decision to put $170,000 towards the Squamish Sustainability Corporation ($120,000 for debt and $50,000 for their line of credit) was divided until there was almost nothing left at Tuesday's (April 13) Committee of the Whole meeting.
Gardner suggested putting $100,000 of the surplus to increase specific budget areas. He said to increase the legal fees budget by $20,000, the contingency fund by $50,000 and the economic development fund by $30,000.
The motion was carried unanimously.
Most of the remaining surplus money will go towards slight tax decreases for light and heavy industrial properties after council agreed their rates should be competitive to attract industries.
In other council business, the Visitor Information Centre reduced their financial request after council asked for possible budget cuts. They scaled back their work day from nine to eight hours, and from September through May will only be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This year the changes will take place on June 1, so it will reduce the 2010 budget by $16,000. On an annual basis, it will create $28,000 in savings.
The motion to reduce the budget was carried unanimously.
