Report to: General Committee                                                   Report Date: February 5, 2007

SUBJECT:                          2007 Capital and Other Programs Budget Pre-approval

PREPARED BY:               Fuwing Wong, Manager of Financial Planning

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the report dated February 5, 2007 entitled “2007 Capital and Other Programs Budget Pre-approval” be received;

And that the projects and amounts listed in Appendix A be approved in advance of Council approval of the overall 2007 Budget;

And that Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Not applicable

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Appendix A outlines the capital projects and amounts recommended for pre-budget approval by the Budget Sub-Committee at the January 22, 2007 meeting.  The total amount recommended for pre-budget approval is $47,098,402 (see Appendix A) which represents 53.1% of the $88,732,900 preliminary 2007 Capital and Other Programs Budget.

The $47,098,402 of projects listed in Appendix A is comprised of a total of 58 different projects, each with its own source of funding.  In summary, the sources of funding for the pre-approved capital is as follows:

Operating Budget Funded                                 $  0.92M

Life Cycle Reserve*                                         $  9.20M

Development Charges                                       $12.54M

Developer Agreements                                     $18.64M

Waterworks Reserve                                        $  2.82M

Closed Capital from previous years                   $  1.64M

Other                                                               $  1.34M

Total                                                                $47.10M

*(note: Life Cycle Reserve is funded from Operating Budget and Hydro Interest Income)

As outlined in Appendix B, five capital projects, totaling $3,379,300, received pre-budget approval in 2006.  Specific details supporting the pre-approvals were presented at the 2006 standing committee meetings where the pre-approvals were granted.

1. Purpose                     2. Background                      3. Discussion                        4. Financial

5. Others (Environmental, Accessibility, Engage 21st, Affected Units)             6. Attachment(s)

PURPOSE:

To obtain approval of specific capital projects and amounts in advance of the overall 2007 Budget approval.

BACKGROUND:

At the January 15, 2007 General Committee meeting 2007 Capital Budget binders were distributed to Council which included a preliminary capital budget of $88,732,900.

On January 22, 2007, the Budget Sub-Committee recommended the projects and amounts listed in Appendix A, totaling $47,098,402, for approval and to be brought forward to the February 5th General Committee meeting.

During the January 22nd Budget Sub-Committee review, three growth management capital projects on the “request for pre-approval” list, totaling $676,300, were deferred pending further discussion by Committee.  The deferred projects are as follows:

Planning department project (# 7722) – Growth Management – Project Management for $333,500

Engineering department project (# 7651) – Growth Management – Town-wide Studies I for $188,200

Engineering department project (# 7661) – Growth Management – MTPS Transportation Model Update for $154,600

OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:

Pre-approval of time sensitive capital projects has the following main advantages:

1.                  Earlier completion of capital projects

2.                  Competitive pricing as a result of early tendering

3.                  Early tendering of construction related projects will result in construction taking place during prime construction season

4.                  More evenly distributed workload for staff participating in the tender, evaluation and contract award process

FINANCIAL TEMPLATE: (external link)

Not applicable.

ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:

Not applicable.

RECOMMENDED

BY:    ________________________          ________________________

Barb Cribbett,                                    Andy Taylor, Commissioner

Treasurer                                            Corporate Services

ATTACHMENTS:

Appendix A – 2007 Capital and Other Programs Budget – Requests for Pre-Approval

Appendix B – 2007 Capital and Other Programs Budget – Previously Approved Projects