Arnprior Town Council spent three hours in a Monday ZOOM session, assessing the impact of COVID-19 on 2020 municipal budget projections.
Mayor Walter Stack says elected representatives and staff will continue to asses the situation in an ongoing basis to clear the calendar year deficit-free.
The Mayor says downtown won’t look as spiffy as it did in 2019 as Council has pruned the flowers budget.
Also trimmed for this year is the Town’s Community Improvement (CIP) facade program.
Loss of the CIP saves the Town 15 thousand dollars.
Beach sand won’t be replaced until the Province permits beaches to open, and weed spraying is cut back.
Despite the continuing crisis, municipal revenues received to-date are running two percent ahead of 2019, but individual departments are suffering: Clerk’s Office revenues are at 12 percent, versus the 46 percent figure they should be at.
Bylaw enforcement revenues are at about half of what they’d normally be- and even cemetery revenues are down.
