The Mayor of Stonewall anticipates challenges in working through the town's budget process for 2017.

Stonewall council is set to go into budget deliberations March 10 and 11, and Mayor Lockie McLean says there's a lot of demand for increased expenses that likely can't be accommodated in this year's budget.

“This year it's tough,” McLean says. “Tough in the sense that we've got a council that believes if you have to increase taxes, that's alright. But once it gets to 2%, that's our red light.”

“In terms of wants and needs of the different departments and different costs that have gone up, it's tough now because we're hundreds of thousands of dollars over in expenses for 2017 versus what we have coming in.”

Stonewall council recently instructed its CAO to ask all town department managers to review their department's expenses thoroughly and identify where costs could be cut.

“Everything is on the table,” McLean states. “Everything from staffing to equipment purchases, to money that we put in reserves every year.”

“...It doesn't matter if it's your fire department, parks and arena, works and operations, or administration. Everything is on the table.”

McLean expects 2017 will be what he calls a 'hold the line year' in terms of budget. But the Stonewall mayor believes ongoing projects in the town will produce increased revenue and allow for future growth and further investment by council — just not this year.

“We're going to have a lot more taxes added with a lot of the construction happening in town right now,” he explains. “But you can't spend that money until you see that money. And right now we don't see the money to cover the current expenses showing in the 2017 budget.”

“But it's just one year like that, where we have to be really tough on our spending. I look ahead to 2018 and it should be the opposite.”