It looks like the Cariboo Regional District will hit the mark when it comes to meeting its budget targets for its 2012 Five Year Financial Plan.
Combining everything it’s anticipated the district will increase its requisitions by 2.4 per cent, which includes a 1.7 per cent increase for inflation and the other 0.7 per cent is for the equivalent of one full-time equivalent position for bylaw enforcement and in economic development for Area F.
“One of the complaints we’ve had at our town hall meetings over the last three years is that when we have one bylaw enforcement officer for over 80,000 square kilometers, we’re not getting there fast enough,” says CRD chair Al Richmond.
The bylaw officer, he adds, covers all infractions, except for roads, ranging from barking-dog complaints to building codes.
During the recent town hall meetings, both positive and negative comments arose regarding adding an extra bylaw officer, stated chief administrative officer Janis Bell and chief financial officer Scott Reid in a report to the board.
Richmond says an exciting revelation for the board is that the final numbers coming in are showing the CRD is going to be able to pay off its debt for the Quesnel and 100 Mile House libraries earlier than anticipated.
“We’ll be able to pay most of the debt off by 2012, and the remainder in 2013. Originally we’d thought it would be 2015 before we were able to do that,” Richmond says, adding there were some surpluses in the library budget.