Edmonton speeders drive up budget surplus
Laura Osman | CBC News | Posted: November 18, 2014 8:48 PM | Last Updated: November 18, 2014
$9.9 million more than expected in photo radar revenue helps get the city out of the red
Edmonton is back in the black, and facing a $14.1 million surplus. One of the major drivers of the change are speeding drivers, who paid $9.9 million more in fines than originally anticipated.
The city initially projected a nearly $11 million deficit by the end of the year. City staff made up the deficit and more in extra revenue and also by saving money elsewhere.
For example, the delayed opening of the Metro LRT Line, which was initially set to open at the end of 2014, saved $2.4 million in operating costs. It is now scheduled to open in February at the earliest.
City staff recommend putting part of the surplus money into a financial stability reserve, which would keep it safe for a rainy day – but photo radar cash could be dealt with differently.
The 2015 operating budget includes a proposal to spend the extra cash from photo radar tickets on community projects as part of council's effort to make the program more transparent.
Photo radar revenues are expected to go up by another $10.9 million next year.
Sunny budget forecast dependant on snow removal
The projected surplus would have been even greater if not for cost overruns like snow removal, which went over budget by $10 million.
The savings projected in city’s third quarter financial update could change for the worse if lots of snow removal is needed between now and the end of December.
"We've got four months left in the year, and we'll see what happens," said Todd Burge, the city's branch manager of financial services.
“A big variance in our budget this time of year is snow. And that can have a pretty significant impact on the year-end position."
Council will decide what happens to any surplus funds during budget deliberations, which start at the end of November.