The Municipality of Chatham-Kent has found itself with a budget surplus and now will be deciding what to do with it.
Councillors will be weighing their options for the $2.1 million surplus resulting from the 2023 operating budget (equal to 0.53% of the gross budget).
Director of Budget and Performance Services Steven Brown said the surplus came from police, the Bloomfield Business Park Unfunded Capital Project, the Tax Rate Stabilization Reserve, the CK Affordable Housing Reserve, and the Reserve for Strategic Development and should go back to them.
Brown said Chatham-Kent police has identified potential business plan investments that will require one-time funding in the coming years and have requested the $94,610 surplus be allocated to the Police Mandatory Issues Reserve.
In 2016, Council set a policy that up to $500,000 of any annual surpluses not committed to other projects be allocated to the unfunded capital account of the Bloomfield Business Park.
The Tax Rate Stabilization Reserve is designed to mitigate unforeseen events or one-time unanticipated revenue losses or expenses as part of Chatham-Kent’s new multi-year budgeting format and $500,000 in surplus will be allocated there for future use.
The CK Affordable Housing Reserve will get $500,000 in surplus money to be used for future affordable housing builds within the municipality.
The $516,519 in remaining surplus funds are recommended to be placed in the Strategic Development Reserve for the future needs of Council.
The 2023 Budget Variance Report also showed that Chatham-Kent continued to face significant costs related to the Wheatley explosion emergency response, with an $8.3 million increase in expenses that were not budgeted as part of the 2023 municipal budget.
The Province of Ontario gave the municipality $10.6 million to help partially offset previous and current year costs associated with the emergency.
Brown's report will be considered by Council Monday night.
