Summerside budget features plans for new eco-business park

The City of Summerside, P.E.I., has presented its budget, but under the new Municipal Government Act it won't be voted on for a couple of weeks.

Council chambers were close to full for the presentation Monday night. Highlights included

• $53 million balanced budget for 2019-2020.
• $1.7 million for street and sewer upgrades. 
• $580,000 for new sidewalks and fixing existing ones. 
• $1 million for water utility capital improvements. 
• $3.3 million for capital improvements to the electric utility. 
• $685,000 for the sewer utility capital improvements. 
• $445,000 for community organizations.
• $1.5 million to decrease the long term debt.
• Council will see a 4% increase to honorariums to adjust to cost of living.

Property tax rates will not increase, nor will the rates for water and sewer or user rates for recreation programs. And this year, Summerside Electric has decided to not follow suit with increases from Maritime Electric, as they have in the past. Maritime Electric currently has applied to the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission to increase rates. 

"We have decided to just hold the line on the rates, see what happens in that situation, and then revisit it." said Summerside finance chair Norma McColeman. 

McColeman said the ideas for the budget came from what councillors were hearing on the doorstep during the recent election campaign, and economic development was a big issue. Council is hoping a new eco-business park, an industrial park where businesses would abide by green practices, will bring growth in that area.

"That wasn't just an overnight decision," said McColeman.

"Other councils and other years back there's been discussion, but it's just not come into fruition. We're now at the place where we can start looking and try and put some prongs together so that it will start to come into being."

The city has budgeted $1 million to research and develop a plan.

"We have a number of people that are very interested and they've got no place to go, so we know that there is a need there." said McColeman

New position for high school 

Another commitment is to work with the province on hiring a school resource officer, a police officer assigned to a school, for Three Oaks High School. 

"There's a lot of peer pressure, there's low self-esteem so we feel, that somebody that's boots on the ground there at the school that can connect with them, is very important," McColeman said 

"So we're at the place now where we want to discuss with the province and the education system, how can we partner this and how can it be really a benefit in the high school, because we've heard that a lot from people."

The budget process is a bit different this year. With the adoption of the Municipal Government Act, council has to wait two weeks to vote on the budget and the public can comment on it in that time. Summerside council will vote on this budget on April 15, at its next regular monthly meeting. 

More P.EI. news